What I Wouldn't Do
by Alabaster Ink
Summary: His son is in a coma, there are spies in his village, and Konoha is suddenly teetering on the edge of silent war. Naruto doesn't quite know what he's doing anymore, but he won't let anyone destroy the peace he's tried so hard to create - even if he has to set aside some morals in order to do so. Undergoing revision.
1. For You

**Hi! This is just a little side story that takes place in my Expectations Universe, in the first segment of Himawari's chapter. It's...angsty and dark. Just fair warning. This does follow the canon ending, so if you didn't like it, that's fine, but please be respectful.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing**

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**What I Wouldn't Do**

**Chapter 1: For You**

The world could be falling to pieces around him and Uzumaki Naruto wouldn't have noticed. Everything was spinning; colors blurred, sounds mashed together, scents churned and rotted until all he could smell was iron. He didn't know how long he had been standing there – it could have been seconds, it could have been hours – just that his legs felt like an impossible mix of jelly and lead. It was a strange sensation, but without it he'd probably be running – to where and at whom he wasn't certain. He did know he was speaking. He could feel his mouth moving and noted somewhere in his brain that people were following orders; he assumed they were his.

It didn't really matter. The world was still spinning, the air was still buzzing, and he was starting to taste the iron on his tongue. It was a decidedly unpleasant taste, not one he was unaccustomed to, but one he normally associated with the aftermath of serious fights. Had he fought anyone today? There were bodies lying cold and still on the grass around him, but whether he killed them or someone else did, he couldn't quite remember. Perhaps it was a mix of both.

There was flurry of pink to his left. His eyes involuntarily followed the color, wondering what it was, until he realized it wasn't a 'what' but a 'who,' and that 'who' was Sakura. She was kneeling on the ground, her face focused and her hands covered in green chakra, shouting out orders to the medics surrounding her. Red splatter littered her shirt, but she paid it no mind; she was solely focused on the person lying prone on the forest floor.

It was a child – a young boy no older than seven. He didn't move, even when the medics wrapped and padded and pressurized the wounds littering his body. There wasn't even a twitch to signify life. The boy was pale, his blond hair dirty and matted brown. His clothes were torn and bloody, his limbs awkwardly splayed. It was a perfectly pitiful sight. Naruto wanted to look away, but found he couldn't.

That child…his child…

The world came to halt. Movement came back first, his shinobi rushing past him to and fro as they went to follow his orders. They moved in groups; teams heading out in different directions to scout the surrounding forest, others rounding up surviving prisoners for interrogation. He felt the ANBU spread out to form a protective barrier.

Sound returned next. There was a roaring in Naruto's ears before he was finally able to make out individual words and shouts. Sakura was screaming words he didn't understand and Shikamaru stood behind him yelling out more orders to the scouting teams. In his head, he could hear Kurama growling and spitting. His own throat hurt. He must have been yelling, too.

Scent came last. Iron was still the predominant smell, but now there was also smoke and the faint aroma of morning grass. It was still early, he noted, barely nine. Most people had only been up for a few hours. Sun shone through the leafless trees, and it would have been a perfectly happy setting if not for the mess. Gouged dirt, destroyed trees, bloody grass and splatter ruined the otherwise picturesque setting.

Naruto couldn't bring himself to care. He still couldn't move.

"Hokage-sama," someone said in his ear. He felt a hand clamp down on his shoulder. "Hokage-sama?" There was a sigh. "Naruto."

Naruto started, his eyes flickering this way and that, before landing on Shikamaru. The other man looked at him with a mixture of resignation and concern. Naruto wanted to tell him to look away.

"Shikamaru," the blond mumbled, his voice hoarse from shouting.

The Nara examined him for a moment, his eyes assessing his friend for any possibility of breaking. He must have been satisfied because after a few seconds he indicated his head behind him and said, "Kiba's back. Says they think they found the rest."

"Think?"

Shikamaru sent him a look and Naruto forced himself to calm down. He nodded for his advisor to continue. "Shino's team is still out, but Kiba reported they haven't found anything. Ino wants to know if she can take the prisoners back to The House."

Naruto looked down, nodding his head in contemplation. He bit his lip. A part of him wanted Ino there as an extra pair of medical hands, but another, larger, part wanted her to start her interrogations. He warred with himself for only a few seconds, his gaze highlighting upon the prone body a few meters away. His eyes hardened and he clenched his fists as he turned to his fellow blonde. She straightened up, saluted him and waited for orders.

"Yamanaka-taicho," Naruto began. "Take them Home. You have free reign."

If Ino was surprised she didn't show it. "Yes, sir."

Naruto nodded. "Good. Go." She was off, her team following quickly behind her, each one holding a prisoner to be taken to interrogation. Naruto turned to Kiba. "Has Sai radioed in?"

Kiba shook his head. "Not yet, but he's farther away. Shino and his team are coming back. No new prisoners or information."

The Hokage nodded again. It felt like all he could do was nod. These people were doing this: good, got it, next. This team was here: okay, thanks. Nod, nod, nod. His feet still wouldn't let him move. It was probably for the best. If he moved he might destroy something.

"Is there anyone else missing from the Academy?" He asked, directing his question to Shikamaru.

"No," the Nara said. "Boruto was the only one. All the students have been dismissed and sent home on lockdown. Shino made sure all his kids were picked up personally before he came here."

"Good," he mumbled. A though occurred him then and he wondered at how long it had taken to strike him. "Hinata?" His eyes widened in worry. "Where are Hinata and Himawari?"

Shikamaru touched his arm to try and reassure him. It didn't. "They're both at the tower. Hinata's taken control of the council."

Naruto's lips twitched, but he didn't have the energy to smile. "Figures she would."

"She's also taken in Sarada. The ANBU are watching them. They're alright."

"Do they know?" Because Naruto didn't know what he would do if Hinata found out some bastardized version of events from a secondary source rather than him, and he didn't want Sarada or Himawari to know at all.

Thankfully, Shikamaru's answer was negative. "No. Hinata knows the basics and I'm sure you can guess it's all Konohamaru can do to keep her there. Himawari and Sarada are oblivious, though I wouldn't put it past Sarada to be suspicious. Girl's as troublesome as her parents."

"She is," and that made Naruto look over to his pink-haired old teammate even though he had been trying so hard not to. He didn't want to see the panic rising in her eyes or the increased amount of blood splatter on her outfit. He also didn't want to see the scrambling of medics as they tried to stabilize the child for transport. It hurt. It hurt worse than anything else he could imagine.

"Hokage-sama…Naruto," Shikamaru sighed, concern brimming in his eyes. "Maybe you should go home. We can deal with everything here."

"No," Naruto said quickly. He immediately realized how desperate it sounded and took a deep breath to calm himself. "No. I can't-I can't leave him here alone, Shikamaru. He needs me here."

Shikamaru would have liked to tell his old friend that he couldn't do much and that Boruto was far too out of it to notice anyone, but he couldn't. Shikamaru knew that if it were Shikadai lying there on the ground, fighting for his life, he wouldn't be able to leave either. The thought itself was almost too painful to contemplate. So he just inclined his head and acquiesced to his leader's decision. He didn't move and stood next to his friend as they both watched Sakura and her team ready the child for transport. It was some of the most agonizing moments of Shikamaru's life and he couldn't imagine what Naruto was feeling. He didn't want to.

"Ready?" Sakura shouted, her hands supporting Boruto's neck. "One, two, three, lift!"

The blond child was quickly transferred from the grass to the waiting stretcher. He was strapped on and, at Sakura's command, immediately lifted by two waiting runners.

"Go, room G-E1!" Sakura shouted. The men were off, the other medics following them and surrounding the stretcher to help keep Boruto stable. The pink-haired medic then moved quickly over to Naruto and bowed her head.

"Hokage-sama," she said, her voice soft and her eyes searching.

"Uchiha-sensei," Naruto returned, not really looking at her. His eyes were still glued to the patch of red mud where his son was not a moment ago.

Sakura exchanged a tense glance with Shikamaru and then turned back to Naruto. She grasped his arm. "I'll do everything I can."

"I know." He still wouldn't look at her.

"Hey," she prodded, reaching up to touch his cheek and force him to look at her. "He'll be okay. He's too much like his parents not to be."

"Yeah," he whispered. He turned blue eyes to her and Sakura's heart shuddered because this was Naruto – dorky, hyperactive, wonderful Naruto – and he just wasn't supposed to look like that. "I know you'll do your best."

She managed a small smile. "I'll do better. I promise, and you taught me not to break promises."

Naruto chuffed, but it didn't bring out the grin Sakura had been aiming for. "Thanks, Sakura-chan."

"No problem, knucklehead," she then straightened up and returned to her previous no-nonsense attitude. "I'll keep you updated and let you know when he's out. Tsunade-sama already radioed in. Everything's ready for him."

When Naruto didn't respond, Shikamaru said, "Thank you, Sakura-san."

Sakura nodded and, with one last concerned glance at her old friend, disappeared into the foliage. Naruto gave no visible reaction to her departure, his gaze returning to the red patch. Kurama was still murmuring death threats in his head and Naruto was half inclined to listen to him. The urge to kill every single person involved in this was almost overwhelming. He clamped down on his chakra, repeatedly telling the fox to calm down. Kurama's rampaging was not helping his own shattered nerves, and right now they needed information not a slaughter, despite how much they both would love it. The Kyuubi quieted, but it was a small victory; Naruto could feel his anger – it bubbled beneath his skin, churning and hissing with a need for revenge. Had he any less control, Naruto wouldn't be able to contain it.

There was a rustling sound behind them and Naruto tensed, his hold on the Kyuubi almost slipping. He was just able to reign himself in when Shino and his team leapt from the trees, presenting themselves before him.

"Hokage-sama," Shino began. "Scout Team Xi reporting. We have found no new assailants within sixty miles west of the village. Evidence suggests they did not arrive from Kusa or Ame because there is no disturbed terrain or chakra residue. I have taken the liberty of distributing my colony along key routes in the event of suspicious activity."

"Good," Naruto stated. "Your team is dismissed. I expect a report in one hour."

"Hokage-sama," Shino said as his team bowed and left. He moved to follow them when Naruto once more called out to him.

"Shino." The Aburame inclined his head in askance, taking in his leader's clenched jaw and twitching fingers. He waited patiently for Naruto to say what he needed, understanding now was not a good time for his friend and it wouldn't be good to ask unnecessary questions. The blond eventually pried his mouth open and asked, "Could you go and gather Himawari and Sarada from the tower? I don't want them to hear anything they shouldn't."

Shino tilted his head to the side, surprised, but also oddly honored at the request. "Of course, Hokage-sama."

"And Shino?" Naruto spoke again. "Tell Hinata to meet me at the hospital."

"Sir," the Aburame shifted, ready to jump, and then said, "Should I prepare the children for an…extended visit?"

Naruto paused and then, "For Sarada, no. I'll tell Sakura where she is once she's finished. For Himawari…she shouldn't be too suspicious of an impromptu sleepover."

Shino nodded, understanding. Himawari would be staying overnight. There was no way Naruto or Hinata could watch over her, keep her calm, and stay with their son at the same time. At least, not tonight. The first 24 hours were always the most critical in these situations and Shino would happily protect Himawari if it would help out his friends.

Besides, if any of more assailants attempted to hurt the girl, Shino would happily assuage them of the idea. Seeing Boruto as he did had left Shino with a quiet anger burning in his chest. He'd hoped he was wrong when the boy didn't show up for class that morning, but Hinata always made sure her son was in school and she always informed Shino if he wasn't going to come in. With no word from his old teammate and an absent blond, it had been enough for Shino to alert the Hokage. He was glad of his quick action. Any longer and Boruto would have either been dead or carried over the border to some, as yet unknown, foreign village. His kikaichu rumbled at the thought.

"Hokage-sama," and he was off, bounding through the trees at a faster than normal pace.

"Yo, Naruto-sama," Kiba called. He was standing a bit a ways away, his hand on Akamaru, who seemed more animated and terrifying than Naruto had seen in years. His other hand stood indicating the recently arrived Sai. "Yamanaka found something."

Sai bowed his head and dissolved his ink creations. His face was a perfect mask of disinterest, showing no emotion or thought. It was Sai's default face and it scared Naruto to the core. "Hokage-sama, we found tracks coming north from the border of Oto no Kuni."

Naruto started and Shikamaru's eyes widened. "Oto? Are you certain?" The Nara asked.

"Yes," Sai said. "We didn't go past the border, but the trail indicates they came from that direction. Shall I send out a reconnaissance team, Hokage-sama?"

Naruto thought for a minute. The ramifications of sending out a team to go past the border without an official invitation were numerous should the team be caught, especially considering the current peace treaties. But Naruto needed to be sure, he needed evidence, in the event that he decided to bring this crime up before the other villages. Naruto knew eventually he would have to. The attempted kidnapping and assault of his son would be seen by the world as a personal attack on the Hokage and Konoha at large. It was a political move, and if Oto no Kuni or Otogakure were planning something, the other villages would have to be alerted. He didn't think he could put a lid on this anyway, not with Temari and Karui already somewhat in the know. Gaara and Darui would probably know within the week. Technically, he could forbid them from dispensing such information, but he didn't really want to. If it spread, all the better for the other villages to know Konoha was provoked.

His gut churned just thinking about it. Naruto suddenly felt dirty and sick for thinking so callously about his son's attack, but if it helped him get swifter retribution he wouldn't complain too much. He didn't want to term it 'revenge'. A sudden thought occurred to him.

"Send out Team Nu; have them wait ten miles from the border."

"Hokage-sama?" Sai questioned, not understanding where Naruto was going with this.

Naruto didn't offer an explanation. Instead, he did a quick handseal and a small toad appeared before him. He then removed a notebook from his pack and wrote a quick message before handing the paper to the toad. Naruto leaned in and whispered something to it that none of the others could hear. The summon saluted and poofed away. It was done in less than a minute.

"Tell Nu to wait for orders," Naruto said, as if nothing had happened. He straightened and looked at Sai directly in the eyes. "If they hear nothing within five days, they are to return immediately.

Said didn't question him. He saluted and uttered a clipped, "Sir," before rushing off into the trees and back towards the ANBU headquarters.

"Team Nu?" Kiba asked from the side, obviously wondering just what had happened and where his old friend was going with this. "You think they're ready for something like this?"

Naruto's lips quirked upwards for a second. "You trained them."

"And they're damn good, but do you really want them to infiltrate Oto?"

"Like you said Kiba, 'they're damn good.'"

"Tch," Kiba bared his teeth, half embarrassed, half pleased. "As you say, Hokage-sama. I'd better go have them run some drills then."

"Don't tire them out. They need to be on their toes."

Kiba waved the words away. "Yeah, yeah, they'll be ready."

"One hour, Kiba."

"Make it hard for me, why don'tcha." Kiba smirked, and even Naruto managed a slight grin. Internally, the Inuzuka felt rather good that he was able to wheedle a smile out his friend. Naruto would need all the good humour he could get in the next couple of weeks.

"You'll have less time if you don't leave now," Shikamaru noted.

"Yeah, I know when I'm not wanted," Kiba said. His smile slipped a bit and he looked at Naruto more seriously. "Keep me updated, 'kay?"

Naruto inclined his head. "Yeah."

"Good," he said. "One hour."

And he was off, taking the rest of his team with him and leaving Shikamaru and Naruto standing alone in the clearing. Well, not completely alone. Scene processors were still combing the area, but they were of little consequence when Naruto had so many other things to think about.

He patted Shikamaru's shoulder and shouted out to one of the men, "Bring everything you find to Yamanaka Sai. I want a detailed report as soon as you're finished."

"Sir!"

Naruto tightened his grip on his friend and signaled to leave, the two soon jumping through the trees and back towards the village. He could see the hospital in the distance; the large building standing out like a beacon. It made his heart race and nausea settled in his stomach.

He didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about everything that happened in the past hour and he didn't want to think about everything that was going to happen. All he wanted was to go back to this morning when he was eating breakfast with his family and everything was normal.

Gods, how was he going to face Hinata? The very thought sent a shudder through his body. He knew she was already going to be tearing her hair out with worry at all the things she had conjured in her mind, but the reality was so much worse. He should have let her come. Why the hell hadn't he let her come?

Naruto shook his head.

He knew why. Himawari needed to be kept safe and calm. Sending her off with the ANBU alone wouldn't have been good for her. Besides that, both parents couldn't in good conscious leave their child without one of them there. They trusted their friends, but they just couldn't burden them with such a responsibility, not now when they had their own families to protect. Who knew whom these people were targeting? So Naruto left, and Hinata stayed, and now both of them were stuck in a nightmare they never could have imagined.

How the _fuck_ had this happened? Naruto clenched his fists tightly, feeling them sharpen and bite into his skin, drawing blood and then healing in a continuous cycle of punishment. How could he have _let_ this happen?

_Fuck!_ His thoughts raged and his emotions bubbled under his skin. He wanted to destroy something. He needed to tear something apart – anything! – whether it be as simple as a piece of paper or as bloody as a human being. Naruto didn't care. He just needed somewhere to put all these terrifying, awful, bloodthirsty emotions.

Kurama was of no help, his own bloodlust continuing to compound Naruto's own and making it harder to control himself. Luckily, the fox had stopped shouting, but Naruto could feel the fox's chakra festering under his skin. He wanted to tell Kurama to stop, but he understood far too much how the fox felt. So he endured the anger and the growls; at least he could take comfort in the mutual desire for blood.

He saw the hospital get closer. Only a few more seconds and he'd be there – a few more seconds and he be surrounded by the scurrying of medics, the cries of the wounded, and the ever pervading scent of blood. How he hated the hospital. He didn't understand how the medics stood it; he didn't have that kind of strength.

Naruto landed on the stone pathway perhaps a bit heavier than was normal, Shikamaru not a second behind. They walked purposefully on quick feet through the hospital entrance, not sure what awaited them beyond the doors. Upon their ingress, the two shinobi were met with a nervous tension. There were no running doctors or screaming instructions, no flustered nurses or bloodstained floor. If anything, everything were perfectly calm, unnervingly calm, terrifyingly calm, and Naruto tensed.

He'd been prepared for shouting, for rushing, for anything that wasn't this. He'd been ready to see blood tracking the floor, but the linoleum was as blindingly white as always. Normal patients sat waiting in their chairs, nurses stood at their stations, and there was only the occasional doctor. Naruto didn't know where to go, whom to ask. He was normally the patient and very rarely the visitor.

"Hokage-sama?"

Naruto turned towards the deep voice and was met with a giant, hulk of a man that almost eclipsed him in height. He wore the standard nurses uniform and had a head of dusty blond hair that sat shabbily on his head. He kept having to brush the bangs from his eyes. Cautious brown eyes stared at him, making eye contact and then staring at the floor in a repetitive cycle. The man clutched his clipboard tightly and Naruto didn't really appreciate it. It spelled bad news.

The nurse's nametag read: _Atsudachi Mamoru_

"Hokage-sama?" The man said again. "Uchiha-sensei has instructed me to bring you to the Green Ward."

"Has my wife arrived yet?" Naruto asked as he began to follow the nurse out of the entranceway. He sincerely hoped Hinata wasn't there waiting for him.

"Not yet, Hokage-sama. We'll bring her to you as soon as she arrives," he replied.

Naruto nodded, not feeling up to conversation, but he had to know just one more thing. "Has there been any word?"

The nurse shook his head and Naruto's heart sank. Atsudachi wouldn't meet his eyes. "No, Hokage-sama, not yet."

The trio continued on in silence. They moved through hallways and down corridors, past the children's ward and the emergency department. Naruto knew the path only vaguely. Kakashi had taken him here before he was officially inaugurated to have his and his family's chakra introduced to the seals. It was a special area, designed specifically to confuse and befuddle anyone not familiar with it. Only the Hokage, his family, and carefully selected medical personnel were permitted entrance. Everyone else had to be escorted.

They reached the first checkpoint within a few minutes. The regular hallway opened up into a small square room with only a single set of doors to make it interesting. Two ANBU stood on alert, offering perfect salutes to their leader. They checked the seals on Naruto's wrist and, once satisfied ushered the trio through the doors and into another long hallway. It was rather surreal actually. The white hall seemed to go on forever, just one continuous corridor with no windows and no end. Had Naruto not known, he never would have suspected it was a genjutsu.

What seemed to be an endless white expanse was really a maze of stairways and halls that spiraled downwards. The group walked forwards, down and down, until Naruto was very sure they were far below the hospital. They walked straight, left, right, and even appeared to go in circles. It truly was a marvel of engineering and genjutsu.

The three men soon reached their destination: a large, unlabeled waiting room with six doors positioned around them. Three of those doors, Naruto knew, lead to recovery rooms. The one directly to his left was the entrance to the morgue. The lasts two, positioned directly ahead, lead to emergency rooms. The sign above one shone a bright red, indicating it was in use. Naruto closed his eyes and swallowed.

"Hokage-sama?" Atsudachi prodded. "With your permission, I will return and escort your wife."

Naruto nodded. "Yes, of course, thank you, Atsudachi-san."

The nurse looked like we wanted to say something else, perhaps an offering of condolences or sympathy, but thought better of it. He bowed his head. "Hokage-sama, Nara-sama."

And he was off, leaving the two men on their own.

Shikamaru wasted no time. He immediately spun around and pinned Naruto with an intense stare. "Alright, Naruto, what are you planning?"

"Sasuke."

Shikamaru blinked. "Okay, and?"

"Sasuke's last letter came near the border of Yugakure. He knows Oto better than anyone here. I figure he can get in undetected and see if there's anything odd before the ANBU can. Depending on what he finds, the ANBU will be his backup."

The Nara nodded in consideration. He then looked closer at his friend and his eyes narrowed. "That's not everything. What aren't you telling me?"

Naruto held out for a second before he sighed and turned to stare at the occupied emergency room. "Sasuke's the only person who knows where all of Orochimaru's bases are. He knows how Orochimaru thinks. That could be invaluable."

"O-Orochimaru?" Shikamaru sputtered. "Naruto, you can't think-"

"What am I supposed to think?" The Hokage cut him off. He glared at Shikamaru and shook his head. "Orochimaru disappeared after the war. We could never find him, and then suddenly, out of the blue, my son gets attacked by shinobi coming near the border of Oto? You should know nothing is ever a coincidence, Shikamaru."

Shikamaru only stared, his eyes searching for something, anything, to tell him this wasn't the right answer. He found nothing. Naruto was convinced Orochimaru had something to do with this and Shikamaru couldn't say the thought hadn't crossed his mind. No one had seen or heard from the man in years; who was to say he hadn't been planning something in all that time.

But why Boruto? Shikamaru didn't want to think it, but why not Sarada? Orochimaru had always coveted the Sharingan. What had triggered the desire for Boruto instead? Was it a mistake?

No, impossible. The differences in the two's appearances could never be mistaken, even without taking into account their genders. So, Boruto was the target.

But why?

The idea was confounding. It brought up too many other questions and scenarios that made Shikamaru nauseous with implications. But then, what if it wasn't Orochimaru? What if it was some other country using Oto no Kuni as a diversion? What if this was a completely unknown adversary? Shikamaru wasn't sure which would be worse.

He sighed. "We can't assume anything just yet, Naruto. Let's wait until Ino gets something out of them first. We'll work from there."

"But we can plan," Naruto murmured.

Shikamaru nodded. "Yes. And prepare."

The two didn't talk after that. They stood in silence, not making any use of the numerous chairs carefully positioned throughout the room. Both men were far too caught up in their thoughts to note the passing of time. They could have waited minutes or hours before they once more heard someone walking down the hallway. Atsudachi and Hinata appeared in the entrance, both seemingly calm.

Hinata walked a little bit further into the room, allowing the men to see her better. She looked very composed, her outfit still pressed to perfection and her hair done up in a simple bun. Her hands were clasped together, but not so tightly as to indicate anything was wrong. Were it not for the fact that they knew her so well, they never would have seen how her hands trembled or the tightness of her jaw. To any outsider, she would have appeared to be a picture of serenity.

When she got closer she nodded to the Nara. "Shikamaru-san."

"Hinata-sama," the man said, bowing just slightly further. He straightened and bowed to Naruto. "Hokage-sama. I'll go see if Ino's made any progress."

"Of course. Thank you, Shikamaru."

"Mah, I just want this done. I'll let you know if she finds anything," Shikamaru said, waving a lazy hand in dismissal. He nodded once more to the two and followed Astudachi back through the winding hallways.

Naruto and Hinata waited a few moments to make sure the two had gone far enough, before finally looking at each other. The two stood for a second, neither moving an inch as if afraid doing so would break whatever control they had. It created a rather tense atmosphere, the air growing heavy around them as they fought to keep their emotions from overtaking them.

Hinata broke first.

She leapt from her spot, swiftly crossing the distance between herself and her husband, and threw her arms around his neck. Naruto was quick to respond, wounding his own arms around her middle to hold her closer. They both started to shake involuntarily with repressed sobs, though not a tear fell from their eyes – they refused to let it. They tightened their grips on each other and Naruto buried his face in his wife's neck.

How he wanted to pull her hair free of that infernal bun and bury his hands in it. He wanted to take comfort in the familiar sensation of silk, wanted to smell the lavender in her shampoo. His fingers dug into her shirt, bunching the cloth and ruining the carefully ironed fabric. He could feel her own nails clutching at his cloak like a lifeline.

Naruto's throat convulsed. "Himawari?"

"With Shino," she replied, and Naruto shuddered in relief. At least one of their children was safe.

His wife choked out a sob.

"Naruto," she gasped, her voice thick with fear. "Tell me he's alive. Tell me I can see him."

Naruto swallowed hard. "He's alive."

"And?" She asked, pulling away and looking up at him with shiny eyes.

"And that's all I know," he whispered. Somehow, he was unable to talk any louder.

She let out a shaky breath. "They haven't told you anything?"

"No," Naruto shook his head. "Nothing, yet."

And wasn't that horrible? The thought of not knowing what was going on inside that room made Naruto want to scream. He wanted to barge in there and demand answers. He wanted to go and pull his son in close, hold him tightly and never put him down. Naruto would keep him safe; he'd always keep him safe. No one could hurt him as long as his dad was there.

But he couldn't, he wouldn't, because to do any of that might mean his son would die, and that thought was more painful than anything else. Naruto pulled Hinata back into his arms and she didn't resist. If anything, she melted into him. He could feel her warm weight against his chest and he noticed every tremor that wracked her body. She still wasn't crying, but Naruto knew it was only a matter of time before one of them broke.

He gritted his teeth. There was a pain festering in the back of his throat, but he ignored it. It was of little consequence.

"I need him," Naruto heard her whisper into his chest.

"I know," he murmured into her ear, moving to place one hand on the back of her head.

"I need to hold him," she keened.

Naruto choked. Oh, how he understood. "I know."

He felt her hands bunch at his back, fists shaking at the tightness, and her jaw trembling against him. "Do we know who did this?" She asked, steel apparent in her voice as her anguish turned to anger.

"…No," he said, debating on what to say. "But we have some ideas."

"What ideas?" He didn't speak up. "What ideas, Naruto?" She demanded.

Naruto sighed and felt his shoulders fall. "Oto."

She wrenched back, staring up at him in shock. "W-what?"

"Sai found tracks leading north towards the border of Oto. He didn't go beyond it, but I sent Sasuke a message with Gamadoro. If anyone can find out if Oto's involved, Sasuke can."

"You have a theory," she stated.

"Yeah."

"What is it?" Her eyes begged him to tell her, but he didn't want her to know. He didn't want to worry her if he was wrong. But if he was right then she needed to be prepared.

"…Orochimaru."

She gasped, her eyes widening. Half of her had probably expected it, but the other half, the half that didn't want him to say it, couldn't hold back surprise. "…A-are you sure?"

"No," he whispered. "But I can't think of anyone else."

Hinata slumped and moved to rest her head on her husband's chest. "What are we going to do?"

He didn't know. _Fuck_, he really didn't know. Naruto couldn't remember the last time he'd felt like this, if he ever had. He held her tighter and rested his chin on top of her head. "We'll think of something."

Hinata nodded, though it was more of an acknowledgment to their shared lack of knowledge than in agreement with his statement. She bit her lip. "What are we going to tell Himawari?"

_Nothing_, he wanted to tell her. Himawari would never know. But even Naruto knew such a plan was unrealistic. His little girl would ask questions; she would want to know where her big brother was, why he wasn't home. They would have to tell her something. Himawari was precocious. If they didn't tell her, she would find out through someone else, and the thought of that was even worse.

"We'll tell her the truth," he finally managed. "We'll tell her a bad man hurt Boruto and that baa-chan is taking care of him."

"And what if-" she swallowed harshly before allowing herself to continue. "A-and what if he-" She couldn't; she just couldn't say it.

She didn't have to. Naruto knew exactly what she was going to say and he didn't want to hear it, didn't even want to think about it. "We won't have to tell her that. Boruto will be fine. He'll be fine and running us ragged just like normal. Everything will be fine, Hinata. He will be okay."

"You promise?" she moaned, her voice barely a whisper and drowned by suppressed tears.

Naruto's teeth clenched and his jaw tightened. He clung to her, pressing swallowed lips to the top of her head. It took him a moment before he could speak, but when he did, it was with conviction. "I promise."

There were no more words said. There was nothing left they could say. Their thoughts were too chaotic for words, their emotions too wild for reason. So they stood there, clinging to each other, hoping that when they let go the world would be right and everything would stop spinning.

At some point, the two gravitated towards the chairs lining the walls. They sat there for hours, neither moving nor speaking, just taking comfort in the others' presence. Hinata's head rested on her husband's shoulder, his arm wrapped around her. Both their free hands grasped the others'. ANBU eventually began filing in, bringing report after report for Naruto to read. It helped pass the time, but Naruto honestly couldn't remember most of what he read. Occasionally, a nurse would come out of the room to give them updates on Boruto's progress; how well he was doing, if things were going well, questions about how much he had eaten that morning or if he had had something on him before he left the house. The questions were endless and draining and they had given up on hearing that Boruto was out of danger. At this rate, the surgery would never end.

Twilight was upon Konoha before the light above the emergency room door finally went off. Being so far below ground, neither Naruto nor Hinata noticed. They did feel the stiffness of their limbs, though, and the ache from the chairs they had spent so long in. They paid no attention to their discomfort. All they cared about were the somber looks on Sakura and Tsunade's faces as they exited the room.

Naruto's legs felt like jelly. Hinata went pale. They stood up stiffly and prepared themselves.

Tsunade spoke first. "Well, he made it through the surgery," she said, and Boruto's parents visibly slumped in relief. "But," they tensed again, "he's not out of the woods yet."

"But he's going to be okay, right baa-chan?" Naruto asked, desperation lining his voice. When Tsunade didn't respond, he leaned forward and held up a hand as if to beg. "Baa-chan?"

"Naruto," Sakura spoke up. The blond looked at her and it wasn't hard to see that she was struggling to find some way to let him down gently. "Naruto, we don't know."

"What do you mean, 'you don't know'?" He yelled, frantically looking between the two solemn kunoichi. "How can you not know?"

"Naruto," Hinata urged from his side. Her jaw was trembling and her fingers held his so tightly he could no longer feel them. He ignored her words.

"No," he said. "No, I want to know how they hell you can spend hours in there only to come out here and tell us that you don't know if our _son_ is going to _fucking_ _live_!"

"Well, what do you want us to say, Naruto?" Sakura asked, desperation clouding her own voice.

"I want you to say he'll be okay. I want you to say he'll wake up and everything will go back to normal. I want you to tell me my son is going to live."

"But we can't tell you that," Sakura admitted. She looked at two of her best friends as if she wanted to cry.

"Why?" He whispered. His head was starting to fill with fog and he felt dizzy.

"Because it would be a lie," Tsunade replied. Her own heart felt heavy with the knowledge. She hadn't spent seven hours operating on her honorary grandson to give them this news. "Do you want me to lie to you, Naruto?"

_Yes_, Naruto wanted to say. Yes, he wanted her to lie and tell him all the things he wanted to hear. But the lies wouldn't help him – they wouldn't help anyone – and Naruto had never like liars.

"No," he found himself saying. "No. I'm sorry, baa-chan, Sakura-chan." He shook his head and straightened. He finally noticed how tightly Hinata was grasping his hand. "What else did you need to say?"

The two medics exchanged looks. Tsunade turned to them and said, "I'll spare you the details, you don't need to hear them – no, don't argue – but suffice to say whoever planned this either wanted Boru-chan with them or with no one. Sakura described the scene for me. My assumption is that when they noticed you closing in on them, they decided to cut their losses. We've managed to halt the process, but Boruto's going to have a hell of a fight on his hands," she summarized, her hazel eyes piercing, urging the two to understand just how hard this was going to be.

She cleared her throat. "Without going too far into it, he has a broken leg and a broken arm, numerous cuts to the torso, abdomen, back, and legs – most probably caused by debris from the explosion you witnessed – his scull is fractured and we'll be monitoring that very closely. He lost a lot of blood and we're treating him for shock. Anything else, I ask you to respect the fact that I'm withholding it. Don't argue with me, Naruto," she sent him a severe look. "If necessary, I will disclose more information. I will also put it in my report, but I advise you not to read it unless you have to. Do I make myself clear?"

Naruto couldn't speak. He dumbly nodded his head barely noticing as Tsunade's face softened. He didn't even realize she had cupped his cheek until she was forcing him to look at her.

"Hey, baby-brat isn't going to die that easily," she said softly.

"But he still could."

"Yes," she didn't sugarcoat it and Naruto found he rather appreciated that. He hated the words, but now he was glad she didn't lie to him. She pulled her hand away and her gaze intensified, highlighting upon both parents. "I don't want to see you two give up, you hear me? That boy's going to need all of your strength right now. I know you have it; I've seen it enough times."

"And either Tsunade-sama or I will be here the whole time. He won't so much as sneeze without us knowing."

That did make Naruto feel somewhat better, but not by much. It wasn't the news he wanted.

"I-is he awake?" Hinata asked, speaking up for the first time. Her voice was thick and shaky with emotion, but she held herself steady, mindful of Tsunade's words.

Tsunade sighed. "No. Due to the head injury, there was some swelling and bleeding in his brain. We managed to reduce the swelling and stop the bleeding, but it caused Boru-chan to slip into a coma." Naruto and Hinata inhaled sharply. The Nanadaime opened his mouth to demand why she hadn't told them this sooner when Tsunade held up her hand. "I don't want to hear it, Naruto. We were going to tell you before you saw him, anyway."

"And h-how long do think h-he'll be like t-this?" Hinata spoke up again, her stutter returning and becoming more pronounced in her worry.

Sakura shrugged one shoulder. Her face was apologetic. "We don't really know. Comas can last anywhere from a few days to even years – we don't think it will last that long," she added upon seeing the terrified looks on her friends' faces, "but we honestly can't judge how long. He's strong though, and he's got your hard head, Naruto. I have faith he'll wake up soon," Sakura stated, trying to add some humour into the somber affair. It didn't really work, but she took comfort in the slight curling of the duos' lips.

Naruto sighed. He stared at the two medics with half fear, half desperation, and asked, "Can we see him?"

Tsunade nodded her head. "We've moved him to his room and he should be all set by now."

"How did you move him without us noticing?" Naruto asked.

"Two of the recovery rooms are connected to each of the emergency rooms just in case. It's good for secrecy and in the event that immediate action needs to be taken."

Naruto didn't want to hear any more. "But we can see him now, then?"

"Yes," Tsunade repeated. "But you have to be quiet and mindful of what you touch. He's in a very precarious position right now. Understand?"

Naruto and Hinata nodded, clenching each other's hands quickly in reassurance. Tsunade seemed to accept their answer and was soon waving them towards the door closest to the first emergency room.

"He's in here. I'm taking the first shift, so if you need anything or if anything happens, _call me_. I'll come running," she stated, opening the door and walking inside. She held the door open for the two and they entered on lead feet. Sakura remained outside, saying something about retrieving Sarada. Naruto vaguely remembered he was supposed to tell Sakura that Shino had her, but figured someone would let her know. He honestly couldn't speak at the moment; his eyes were too focused one what he was seeing.

Were it not for the machines and the occupant, it would have been a remarkably cheerful room. There was a soft, brown couch situated against the far wall with blankets and pillows already set for long night stays. Bright sunlight splayed through the window, displaying the pinks and purples and oranges of twilight. Naruto briefly wondered how such a spectacle was possible so far below ground, and then remembered the genjutsu from before and surmised it must be something similar. Frankly, it gave the room some much-needed life.

But he could admire the room later. Boruto lay pale as sheet beneath the thin hospital blankets. His hair had been washed of blood and his clothes replaced by pale green hospital robes. Bandages covered him from head to toe, leaving very little skin for Naruto to see. Only the tips of his fingers were really visible and they were covered in wires and tubes, pumping in blood and nutrients. A ventilator sat next to Boruto's bed. He could hear baa-chan pointing out the various tubes – words like endotracheal and nasogastric going in one ear and out the other – but he caught the general idea.

These were keeping his son alive; don't touch them.

He didn't really notice when Tsunade stopped talking, but he did hear her close the door, leaving the two parents alone with their child. Naruto didn't know what to do.

Hinata moved first.

She walked on shaky legs to the chair on the opposite side of the bed and plopped down with a sharp intake of breath. Her hands spasmed, the desire to reach out and hold him warring with the knowledge that such action would be unwise. She was even afraid to touch his hand.

"There are so many tubes," she muttered to herself. A desperate laugh bubbled from her chest. "I don't know where to touch him." She turned imploring eyes to him, begging him to give her an answer. "Naruto, I don't know where to touch him."

Naruto could only stare back. He had no answer. The thought made him sick and dizzy. Nausea bubbled in his stomach and even Kurama was quiet. But he couldn't let Hinata down. She needed him to be strong. Boruto needed him to be strong.

He managed to lift his feet and walk over to the opposite chair, facing his wife so that he might be able to give her some comfort. He didn't know if it worked, but looking at her helped him, so he could only pray he had the same effect on her.

"Well, I guess we…" he trailed off trying to find somewhere he could touch. Their son just looked so fragile. Naruto was afraid contact of any kind might hurt him.

He looked at his son's hands – at his tiny, tiny fingertips, the nails chipped and damaged. Naruto reached out to them, paying extra attention not to jostle the tubes. His own fingertips traced along his son's, as if testing to see if they would break. They didn't and Boruto continued his mechanical breathing.

"I guess we can hold his hands," Naruto finished. He gently twisted his large fingers around the underside of his son's tiny hand and held on. The warmth was incredible against his skin and Naruto almost starting sobbing right there.

Across the bed, he saw Hinata do the same with Boruto's other hand and watched the relief take hold of her face. She sniffled back a cry and wiped at her eyes, before reaching out with her free hand to cup his bandaged cheek.

She let out another choked sob, but somehow still managed a smile. It looked dazzling. "Hi sweetheart," she began, her eyes roving every inch of his face as if trying to memorize it. "It's mommy. I don't know if you can hear me, but I just wanted to let you know how much I love you and how much I can't wait to see you open your eyes again. I know you can fight this. I have faith in you. And when you wake up, we'll be here to see you. We'll be right here, so you don't have to worry about fighting a-alone. M-mommy and d-daddy are here to help you. We'll be here every s-step of the way. I promise, sweetheart. I promise, and we d-don't ever go b-back on our promises, r-right?"

She began to choke up and Naruto took over. "Hey buddy, you listen to your mom, okay? She's usually right about these things and I know you can do it too. You're my brave boy. You're so strong, Boru. One of these days you'll be stronger than mom and I. You just-you just gotta get through this. I know it'll be hard, but we're gonna be here with you. So, you don't have to be afraid. You have so many people willing to help, so you have to wake up soon and let us know you're okay. Can you do that?" There was no response, but Naruto hadn't really expected one. Still, there was a twinge in his heart he didn't want to think about. He smiled bitterly. "That's okay, you're tired. It's been a long day. You just sleep, okay? You sleep and mom and dad will be here to protect you. We'll keep you safe, Boru. I promise, we will keep you safe."

Naruto couldn't talk anymore. His throat was convulsing and his chest felt tight. Any of the words he wanted to say failed to escape. He wanted to tell his son so much. He wanted to tell his son just how much he loved him – just how much seeing him brightened his day. He wanted to tell Boruto how strong he was, how brave. He wanted his son to know he was proud of him, so very proud. But the words wouldn't come. All he could do was sit and watch – watch for any sign of life beside the beeping of machines and the sound of the ventilator. He held his son's hand like a lifeline.

"He's so still," Hinata finally muttered after a stretch of silence. It was startling to hear her at first – like a siren going off inside his head. He looked over at her. She was staring at their son in longing. "He's never still when he sleeps."

"No," Naruto choked out. "No, he's usually too busy rolling around."

"He got that from you."

Naruto chuckled. "Yeah, though that whole curling up into a ball thing at the end he got from you."

"True," she smiled. The grin gradually fell the longer she looked at their son. "I don't like him still."

"Me neither," Naruto agreed. It was unnerving.

There was another length of silence as the two just basked in the feeling of Boruto's warm hands. Hinata carefully stroked his cheek with her thumb. She ignored the sensation of the bandages and hard plastic and just reveled in the warmth. Naruto compulsively counted his son's fingers. He'd done it when the boy was a baby, amazed at how perfect he was. Now, he did it to reassure himself. His son was growing, would continue to grow. They'd get past this. Boruto would be okay.

"What are we going to tell Himawari?" His wife spoke up again, her gaze still lingering on their son's face. The question hadn't seemed as dire before, but now it appeared to take on a whole new meaning as they saw the reality of their situation.

The thought worried him. _What_ were they going to tell their daughter? Naruto's head shook involuntarily. "I don't know," he mumbled, his words falling like a heavy weight on their shoulders. He continued to count the fingers.

_One, two, three, four, five_. Five perfect fingers. He repeated the cycle. Over and over he repeated his count, trying to keep the anger at bay. What were they going to tell their daughter? They couldn't show her this. She would have nightmares for years. And what if Boruto didn't make it? What would they tell Himawari then? Naruto didn't even want to entertain the idea.

Boruto would be fine. He would wake up and everything would be normal again.

But nothing would ever be normal again. Naruto would always be looking over his shoulder, wondering if anyone had it out for his children. He would worry over every mission, over every play date, and every class. His naivety was gone, and the very real danger his position and legacy posed for his children was exposed. He would have to be very careful about what he did from now on.

But first things first. He would have to meet with the ANBU and set up watches. One team was already set on Himawari and another on this area of the hospital. More would have to be spread out throughout Konoha. He also had to meet with the council; they would have to be informed in the event Orochimaru was involved or if some new enemy was making their move. After that, well after that was a whole slew of international relations, scouting expeditions, interrogation reports, and then the inevitable quiet panic from the civilians. It was going to be a long few weeks and he wasn't looking forwards to any of it.

He rubbed his thumb along his son's hand. He didn't like the bandages; they reminded him too much of his own prosthetic. He ignored them for the sake of his sanity. He also ignored the way he had to awkwardly stop and twist his hand so as not to dislodge any of the needles. It made him shudder.

Who would do this to a child? Why would anyone do this to a seven-year-old boy? Boruto had never done anything to deserve this. Just thinking about all those men and women over in interrogation made his blood burn with hatred. Who gave them the right? What monster told them it was okay to hurt a child like this? He had to consciously fight to keep his hand from squeezing his son's too tightly, though he had no such control over his prosthetic. It clenched together, fraying and tearing at the bandages. Naruto didn't care.

He wanted these people dead. He wanted them to feel the same pain he was feeling right now. He wanted them to know the pain they caused his family, the anguish they caused his son. And he wanted them to see it coming. He wanted to look them in the eyes and see their fear. Perhaps then, they'd understand what they'd done.

Most of all, he wanted to find the person who ordered this, whether they be Orochimaru or some other monster. He wanted to see the fear on their face, the knowledge that they had caused their own demise. Naruto was a forgiving person, but even he had limits. To hurt his son like this was unforgivable.

Anger bubbled inside him. His face set, his jaw clenched, and his teeth ground sharply together. His eyes began to turn gold. Naruto took a deep breath and forced the anger back – back into the depths of his mind to fester. Now was not the time for anger. It had no place near his son. But later, he would need it. He would build it up, save it, and keep it at the ready. It would be motivation.

Because Naruto would find the person who did this…

_And he would destroy them._

* * *

**I did a thing...  
**

**Well, I hope you enjoyed and that you don't think I'm a maniac. I'm not, I promise. I seem to have set myself up for a sequel, so I may end up writing one because angry-Naruto needs resolution. He's toeing a bit of a dangerous line, here. But we'll see. **

**Anyway, please review. I appreciate constructive criticism, but keep your flames to yourself. They don't help writers improve and are unnecessary. Thank you very much for reading and I hope you have a wonderful day!**

**~Alabaster Ink**


	2. I Wouldn't Tear the Earth Asunder

**Thank you all so much for your kind reviews! So, I have decided to make this a multi-chapter story. The plot bunny bit and who am I to deny it? Anyway, this chapter doesn't have much NaruHina (sorry), but it's a basic set-up for the rest of the story. Hopefully, I can have the next chapter up soon. This does follow the canon ending, so please be respectful. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything, except the plot and Shiro (who is from Expectations)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**What I Wouldn't Do**

**Chapter 2: I Wouldn't Tear the Earth Asunder**

"Mama, where's Boruto?"

Uchiha Sarada was not stupid by any stretch of the imagination. While not as prodigious as her deceased uncle or as naturally gifted as her father, Sarada was nonetheless intelligent and skilled. She was analytical, logical, precise – she thought out every move before she did them and what she lacked in inherent talent she more than made up for in determination.

It was this determination that fueled her now.

The day had started out normal. Her mama woke her up, she got ready for school, and was on her way twenty minutes before class was to begin. Chouchou joined her halfway there, their paths merging at the intersection between the Yamanaka flower shop and the bakery. On some occasions, Inojin or Boruto would join them, but today the boys were running late and both girls continued on their own. Nothing set the day up as being any different than the ones before.

It wasn't until Shino-sensei did roll call that Sarada realized something was amiss. Most of the students were still too busy tittering at Inojin's less than graceful entrance to notice, but Sarada saw her teacher freeze. She caught the way his head moved to survey the room, how his body tensed and his fingers twitched around the call sheet. He sounded the name out again, but the class was still laughing too hard to catch it. Shino-sensei held up his hand and suddenly the room felt heavy. Everyone fell silent.

"Uzumaki Boruto," Shino-sensei called out.

On a normal day, the call would have been followed by an exuberant shout from their classmate. When no such cry came, the students looked around in intrigued confusion.

Boruto held the ambiguous position of being able to call Shino 'uncle' outside of class. While this did hold some benefits, the negatives sometimes caused more stress than anything. Homework was always done to perfection and handed in on time. Boruto was never late for class and the very idea of skipping was not to be contemplated. Everything made it back to his parents in some way or another.

Likewise, however, his parents always talked to Shino. If Boruto was going to be late or was unable to make it to class, Shino always knew in advanced. He wouldn't even bother calling out the boy's name on the roll sheet. Such silence was unusual.

Sarada looked at the seat behind her. No Boruto. She looked around the room. No Boruto. She exchanged glances with some of her friends. Chouchou had her eyebrow raised and Inojin just seemed relieved the class was no longer laughing at him. Only Shikadai seemed concerned. His own eyes were trained outside, his forehead scrunched up in concentration as he watched through the window for any sign of a scurrying blond. He didn't appear to be having much luck.

"Uzumaki Boruto," Shino-sensei called again.

This time the silence stretched out until it was uncomfortable. The class watched as their teacher placed the call sheet down on his desk and made quick, steady strides towards the door. Another Shino appeared near the front of the class as their real instructor exited the classroom for somewhere the children could only guess at.

For a moment, everything was still. Then, the clone turned to the class and picked up the paper. "I am going to read everyone's names out loud once more. Please speak when your name is called and remain quiet while I confirm attendance," Shino-sensei said, pining them all with a stare they couldn't see, but could feel. "Botsune Kazuma."

"Here!"

And so the roll call continued. Sarada could feel adrenaline rushing through her veins. Her heart rate picked up and she watched as her hands begin to tremble. She held them tightly in her lap to cover it up. There was an undercurrent of excitement in the room, most of the other students only focusing on the break in routine rather than the potential reasons behind it. Sarada couldn't find it in herself to feel good about the situation. Shino-sensei had exited too abruptly for her to be anything else but nervous. Sarada looked around and found that only a handful of people appeared tense. Not surprisingly, all of them were Boruto's close friends.

Chouchou no longer looked so apathetic. Her face was now scrunched up in an expression of growing apprehension and she turned uneasy eyes to Sarada. The Akimichi girl's face contorted in a question as she inclined her head towards the Uchiha.

'_Where's Boruto?' _Her expression asked, and Sarada shook her head. Chouchou slumped, chewing her lip in agitation.

The brunette then tried to get Inojin's attention, but the boy didn't seem to want to respond. He swatted her hand away, intent on keeping his gaze on their teacher, though he did spare her a glance of similar confusion and worry. He clutched the pencil tighter in his hand as if to ground him.

Chouchou didn't even attempt asking Shikadai; the Nara boy was too busy staring out the window. He sat slumped in his chair like normal and his eyelids were half-lidded. But there was something else. His eyes were too focused and Sarada watched as his fingers tensed against the desk. Even his shoulders were stiff against the back of his chair. Usually, they rolled along the wood, looking as if they had melded to his back. Today, Shikadai looked poised to jump.

"Uchiha Sarada."

The call startled her and Sarada twitched at the unexpectedness of it. She looked around to see all eyes on her and felt her face heat up at getting caught not paying attention. She usually always paid attention. The girl awkwardly cleared her throat, turned her gaze back to the front of the room and said, "Here."

Shino-sensei nodded as he checked off her name and went to the next one on the list. "Yamanaka Inojin."

"H-here." Sarada couldn't fault him for his stutter. Between his name and Sarada's was 'Uzumaki Boruto'. The fact that Shino-sensei hadn't called out their friend's name made this whole situation unnervingly real. Inojin exchanged tense glances with his deskmates, who in turn also looked at her. Sarada shrugged. She was just as clueless as they were.

The classroom door suddenly opened just as the clone was putting the call sheet back in the drawer and the real Shino stepped back in. His bug clone dispersed, the kikaichu buzzing and returning with a _whush_ up his sleeves. His students watched as one as their teacher strode back to his desk with an urgency they were unused to. Rather than pick up the chalk and begin today's lesson, he turned to them.

"I have just been informed of an unexpected development that has caused me to cancel our lessons for today. All of you are to pack up your belongings. I have taken the liberty of contacting your parents and you are not to leave this classroom before they have arrived. For those of you whose parents are unavailable, a designated guardian has been assigned. Yamanaka-kun, you are to accompany Nara-sama-"

"But my parents-"

"Your parents are currently otherwise engaged. Nara-sama will watch you until they are available." Shino-sensei's invisible eyes bore into Inojin's own and the boy shrunk in on himself. Satisfied the child wouldn't ask any more questions, Shino then turned to look directly at Sarada. "Uchiha-kun, Uzumaki-sama has agreed to supervise you while your mother is occupied."

"Y-yes, Shino-sensei," she stuttered out, too stunned by these turn of events to say anything else. _What_ in the world was going on?

She didn't voice her question out loud, but it was certainly mirrored on the faces of every one of her classmates. Expressions ranged from surprised to relieved to excited, and Sarada found herself dismayed that so few of her classmates were concerned. Obviously, something bad had happened, but none of them seemed to care. Students began to talk again, whispering enthusiastically to their neighbors as they waited for their parents to arrive.

Chouchou was the first of her friends to leave. Her father appeared, large and unusually serious in the doorway. He exchanged a few short words with Shino before clasping his daughter's hand tightly in his own. Perhaps too tightly because Sarada could have sworn she saw Chouchou wince as his hand wrapped around her own, but she made no noise of protest as her father lead her from the room.

Nara Temari appeared next. Strangely enough, her battle fan sat threateningly on her back, a sight Sarada had never seen before. Shikadai looked just as startled by his mother's appearance. They watched as her eyes surveyed the room, looking for something they couldn't see. She and Shino exchanged loaded looks before she turned serious eyes to her son.

"Shikadai, Inojin, we're going home, now."

"Mom, what-"

"_Now_."

Shikadai didn't say anything more. He and Inojin gathered their bags and hurried down the stairs. Temari placed a protective hand on each of the boys' shoulders, nodded to Shino, and was out the door within a few seconds.

Only a small gaggled of students remained, none of who Sarada was particularly close to. Not that it mattered anyway; she was too consumed in her thoughts to talk. Before long, Sarada was the only one left. Shino still stood at attention at the front of the room and she could hear his kikaichu buzzing around. It was unnerving and made her fidget in her seat. She looked at the clock. Only a half an hour had passed since class was supposed to begin. It had felt much longer than that to her.

Without warning the classroom door opened once more and Sarada turned to see Konoha's First Lady standing there, clutching her five-year-old daughter's hand in her own. Sarada moved to gather her bag, but watched out of the corner of her eye as Shino-sensei finally moved from his spot to place his hand on the woman's shoulder. They didn't speak, but Hinata's eyes closed and she covered his hand with her own, squeezing it to show her appreciation. Himawari looked confused at the action, but was easily distracted when Shino-sensei moved to pat her on the head. The little girl smiled wide for her uncle and even giggled a bit, though it wasn't as loud as Sarada was used to. It was obvious she knew something had happened.

The older woman turn distracted eyes to her. "Are you ready to go, Sarada-chan?"

Sarada nodded and hefted her pack. "Yes, Uzumaki-sama."

"Sarada."

The girl blushed. "Hinata-ba-chan."

Hinata nodded and a small, quivering smile made its way onto her face. "Much better." She held out her hand to the girl and Sarada moved down the stairs to grasp hold of it. Himawari sent her a blinding smile, one that the Uchiha couldn't help but return. The little girl's smiles were just that infectious.

"Thank you, Shino-kun," Hinata said once Sarada was safely in her grasp. "Are you…?"

Shino inclined his head. "Yes. I have already sent my companions ahead."

The woman slumped a bit in what Sarada could only assume was relief before she straightened and said, "I won't keep you then. Thank you again, Shino-kun."

"It is my duty and pleasure, Hinata-sama." Shino-sensei seemed to hesitate then, before he leaned in and whispered something to the woman. Whatever he said, it made Hinata sniff and nod, her lips tightening into a strained smile.

She looked at the two girls. "Well, come on you two. We can't keep Shino-sensei to ourselves. Say good-bye."

"Bye-bye, Shino-ji!" Himawari shouted, waving her free hand vigorously.

Sarada was much more subdued. "Good-bye, Shino-sensei."

The Aburame nodded to both of them. "Have good day, Himawari-chan, Sarada-chan." He looked at his old teammate and bowed his head. "Behind the ear."

Hinata nodded. "I know," and her face showed how grateful she was, though Sarada was confused by just why that was. What was behind Hinata-ba-chan's ear? She reached up to her own ear and felt nothing. All she could feel was the usual pressure from her glasses. Perhaps this was a grown up thing – some super secret shinobi code they would learn in another year. She missed the smirks that graced the adults' faces. "Come on, girls," Hinata said, tugging their hands. The two children followed her out the door and when Sarada chanced a look back, Shino-sensei was nowhere to be found. It sent a chill up her spine.

She spent the rest of the morning with a dark cloud over her head. Even when they were ensconced in the Hokage tower, Sarada kept looking over her shoulder, searching for whatever it was that was making all the adults whisper. Hinata spent most of the time reading paperwork and talking with a multitude of shinobi Sarada had never met before. She only recognized a few. Nara Shikamaru kept appearing every few minutes, and Sarutobi Konohamaru, a jounin close to Hokage-sama, seemed to spend his time half terrifying and half terrified. Usually, Konohamaru was a very jovial man, if a little boisterous, but today he was jumping at shadows, watching everything that moved with a closeness that bordered on paranoia. He was always with them, following Hinata around like a shadow and sending off any unwanted persons with a glare. He was irritable and distracted – hyperaware, yet equally oblivious to his surroundings. Sarada wasn't sure she wanted to know why.

Not that she really got a chance to ask. Shino-sensei reappeared about two hours after they were taken to the tower. He met with Hinata and Konohamaru privately, while the girls were watched by Udon and Moegi, both formidable jounin in their own right if not as active as their old teammate.

Hinata emerged not ten minutes later looking pale and drawn, though somehow she still managed to put a smile on her face for the girls. Sarada was not fooled and she was pretty sure Himawari wasn't either, but neither made any mention of it. The woman bent down and pulled both girls into a hug before motioning to the teacher standing behind her. Konohamaru was nowhere to be seen.

"Hima-chan, mama has to go somewhere right now, but Shino-ji has agreed to take care of you until I get back," she said, looking at them both in the eye. "Sarada-chan, your mom is very busy at the moment, but she'll come get you once she's finished, alright?"

Both girls nodded, too stunned by this turn of events to say anything. Hinata seemed to understand this because she pulled both girls into a tight hug and kissed both of their foreheads. "Now be good for Shino. I love you both."

"Love you too, mama," Himawari replied, subdued and watching her mother's face worryingly.

"Love you, Hinata-ba-chan," Sarada stated.

The woman smiled tightly before standing and embracing Shino. The man didn't hug her back as tightly, but he did wrap his arms protectively around her, which was more than Sarada had ever seen before. Hinata eventually pulled away, smiled one last time at the girls, and disappeared down the hallway, leaving the group behind. They stood silently for a moment before Shino offered his hands for the girls to take. Himawari latched on immediately, but Sarada was slightly more subdued if only because he was her teacher now and it was sort of awkward. She took it after a second and the trio made their way out of the tower and in the direction of the Aburame compound.

If there was one thing Sarada noticed about the trip, it was how tense the village was. Shinobi flitted over the rooftops in teams, civilians were out only for the necessities, and everyone walked around as if they were constantly looking over their shoulder. Sarada made sure to stick closely to Shino. Whatever had happened couldn't have been good and she felt her heart rate pick up the longer they were outside. She just wanted to get to the Hive and forget everything she was seeing.

It took only ten minutes to reach the Aburame compound from the tower, but by time they arrived Sarada was surprised Shino could still feel his hand, she had been clutching it so hard. Shino's wife met them at the entrance, holding their son Shiro in her arms. Shiro was a cute kid around Himawari's age, though Sarada couldn't say she knew him very well. She did know he had a problem with keeping his bugs to himself, though, so she kept checking her clothes every few minutes.

Lunch consisted of ramen, a comfort food Sarada was certain Shino had only allowed in order to keep Himawari happy and content. They played Pretty Pretty Kunoichi and watched Teenage Ninja Turtle Summons. Sarada even helped Himawari and Shiro with their kunai throwing and they read a good five books before their butts began to hurt.

The day continued to pass at a slow crawl. Despite her best efforts, Sarada watched as Himawari became more and more morose. The child's eyes would flitter back and forth to the door as if waiting for her parents to appear. Her kunai throwing was half-hearted at best and she would pause in the middle of the readings. Even Shiro's bug dances weren't enough to make her laugh.

"Are you okay, Hima?" Sarada asked once the two girls had a moment to themselves. Shiro was in the next room helping his mother prepare dinner and the girls were washing up in the bathroom.

Himawari didn't answer at first, biting her little lip in a nervous habit. Sarada saw her open her mouth a few times as if she were trying to get the words out. When she finally spoke, it was barely a whisper. "Mama was crying."

Sarada's eyes widened. "What?"

"Mama was crying," she repeated, turning imploring blue eyes to the older girl. "She was crying and daddy was angry. He was really really angry." Her voice quivered as she relayed the story and she began to sniffle. "No one will tell me what's wrong and…and I can't find Boru-nii," she broke off with a wail.

Sarada immediately crouched down and pulled the girl into a hug. She stroked Himawari's hair as she began to cry and rocked her a little bit back and forth. Sarada felt her own throat begin to close and her eyes stared at nothing. What could have happened to Boruto? All of this started just because he hadn't come to school and suddenly everyone was walking around jumping at shadows. It was terrifying. It was truly, truly terrifying, and Sarada suddenly felt like she was suffocating. She held Himawari tighter.

Boruto was her best friend. No, not a best friend; he was like her brother – an annoying brother who she didn't want to acknowledge in public, but her brother nonetheless. She loved him a lot and the thought of something happening to him shook Sarada to the core. Had he been kidnapped – hurt? Sarada needed to know.

Shino appeared in the doorway, probably alerted by Himawari's cries. The child didn't notice, but Sarada looked up at her teacher with a mixture of panic and relief. Shino-sensei would know what to do. He always knew what to do.

"Sarada-chan," Shino began, moving further into the washroom. "What happened?"

"She, umm…" How to put it into words?"

Himawari solved the problem with her next wail. "I want Boru-nii!"

Sarada watched as Shino suddenly tensed. It made her heart leap into her throat. Shino was normally never so unruffled. She was relieved to see that it didn't last long, as the man was quick to hide whatever tension he felt, but the fact that it had happened at all sent her mind spiraling. He crouched down on the floor before the girls and sat there as calmly as every Aburame Sarada had ever met. His head tilted to look more closely at Himawari.

"Himawari-chan, Boruto-kun is not here right now."

"I want Boru-nii!" She wailed again like he hadn't even spoken.

"I understand, however Boruto-kun is currently with your parents because he was unable to make it to school today."

Himawari sniffled and removed her face from Sarada's shoulder. The cloth felt cold and wet against the older girl's skin. Himawari stared up at her uncle with watery eyes. "I want to go home. I want mama and daddy and Boru-nii."

Shino sighed and reached out his arms to take the girl into his own. Sarada eased the transfer and soon, Himawari was standing between the two, Shino holding her under the armpits. "I know you desire to go home, Himawari-chan, however that option is not available right now. Boruto-kun and your parents are not home because they had to go talk to some people. It is a difficult situation."

"But I want them!" She stomped her little foot on the ground. "I want them right now!" And she was crying again, swinging her arms and legs this way and that, even kicking Shino in the leg.

The Aburame didn't fight her. Sarada watched as he rode out the tantrum, eventually lifting the girl up into his arms. His whole body was relaxed and gentle as he slowly began to rock the girl back and forth. Sarada had never seen her teacher like this; even with the visor covering his eyes, his countenance was soothing.

She hoped it helped Himawari, but all Sarada could feel was her heart hammering in her chest. She fixed her glasses up higher on her nose and forced back the lump in her throat.

"Shino-sensei?" She chanced.

The man didn't speak. He just lifted one finger behind Himawari's back to tell her to wait. Sarada nodded and held in her question, though she never got the chance to ask it. Not a minute after Shino took Himawari into his arms, the doorbell rang.

Shino's kikaichu immediately swarmed out from under his sleeves and Sarada jumped at the unexpected reaction. It was so violent, so unlike the ideals she always associated her teacher as. A few of the bugs flew out the bathroom door while the rest remained, swarming around the trio in a protective bubble. Shino stood still, clutching Himawari just a bit tighter to him. Sarada sat frozen on the floor waiting for him to tell her it was alright to move.

The bugs quickly returned, humming, and Shino relaxed. Whoever was at the door wasn't a threat.

He turned covered eyes to her. "Sarada-chan, your mother has arrived to take you home."

"But Himawari-"

"Is perfectly safe. Your mother has had a long day and I am sure she wishes to see you."

Sarada could only nod, her eyes flickering to look at Himawari's still trembling body and then up at Shino. She got up from the floor, paused and then began to take slow, hesitant steps towards the door. Her uncertainty lasted only until she was out of the bathroom and then she was running pell-mell towards the front door. She could see Shiro poking his little head out of the kitchen entrance from out of the corner of her eye, but she was too focused on reaching her mother to acknowledge him.

Sakura stood in the front entrance looking tired and careworn. Her clothes were rumpled, her hair sweaty and mused, and her skin pale from exhaustion. The expression on her face was subdued, but she still managed to smile for her daughter. Sarada smiled happily back, jumping into her mother's arms and embracing her tightly. Sakura held her back just as hard.

Sarada was quite sure there was nothing better than her mother's hugs.

"I missed you," Sakura murmured into her ear, tilting her head and kissing her daughter on the forehead.

"I missed you too, mama," she replied. Sarada pulled back a little bit and looked at her mother's haggard face. The little girl's face twisted in concern, moving her hands up to cup her mother's. Her eyebrows knitted together and her glasses slipped. "Mama?"

Sakura smiled. "I'm okay, honey." She then turned her head up and began to stand, Sarada herself also looking behind them. Sakura inclined her head. "Thank you for watching her."

Shino shook his head, walking a bit closer to them with Himawari still resting on his hip. Sarada was glad to see she had stopped quivering. "It was my pleasure, Sakura-san. Sarada-chan was very helpful. Why? Because she was able to help me care for Himawari-chan."

"Really?" Sakura looked down at her daughter with pride. "I'm glad she was helpful. Now, if only she was so good at home."

"Mama!"

Sakura laughed, a light, tinkling sound that made the girl blush. "I'm just teasing, honey." She looked back at Shino and her face turned serious. "Would you like me to…?" She trailed off, but Shino seemed to know what she was asking anyway because he was already shaking his head.

"That's alright, Sakura-san. Himawari-chan has just had a long day because of the circumstances."

The medic nodded, her face turning somber, and Sarada traded between looking at the two adults – she wanted to know what they weren't telling her. All this secrecy was getting very frustrating.

She tugged at her mother's sleeve. "Mama?"

Sakura looked down at her and Sarada stopped, shrinking at the expression. Sakura turned her eyes to Shino. "Well, it's getting late and I don't want to keep you."

"Of course," Shino nodded. He then did something that surprised Sarada. His body tilted forward, stopped, and then appeared to hesitate. His head turned to Himawari then down to Sarada and then back up to her mama. He let out an almost inaudible sigh. The grip around Himawari tightened and Sarada felt her mother's grip on her shoulder follow suit.

_What_…?

Shino took a deep breath and spoke up, "I trust your day went well."

Sakura smiled tightly. "Not as well as I would have liked."

Sarada watched as Shino stiffened. "…I see."

"Yes, well…I'm hopeful," she nodded her head, but didn't really look anyone in the eye. Sarada knew that expression. It was her mama's troubled face. Something wasn't going well at work, not at all. "But we really should go and," she looked a little closer at the little girl on Shino's shoulder, "and I think you need to wake Himawari up for dinner," she finished with a little giggle.

"Ah, yes, you are correct," Shino replied, hefting the girl up a bit. "Have a good night, Sakura-san, Sarada-chan."

"You too, Shino. Say thank you, Sarada."

"Thank you, Shino-sensei," she piped up. "Will you tell Himawari and Shiro I said good-bye?"

"Of course."

Sarada smiled and allowed her mother to take her hand. Sakura grinned down at her and then turned her body so she was leaning towards the door. "Thank you again, Shino."

He nodded his head. "You're welcome, Sakura-san. Goodnight."

"Goodnight," and they were out the door and into the cold winter night air.

Sarada clutched her coat tighter around her as her mother lifted her up into her arms. There was no leisurely night walk as they might have usually done. No, tonight her mother leapt up over rooftops in an unusual hurry, carrying Sarada to their house in silence. The wind chill caused the girl to snuggle into her mother's warmth and Sakura seemed only too happy to hold her close.

They arrived home quickly and Sakura made a show of checking the house before she even thought of putting Sarada down. Once satisfied they were alone, Sakura made sure to lock all the doors and windows. Considering the fact that doing so probably wouldn't deter any determined assailant, Sarada concluded it was only to give her mama some semblance of peace.

The two didn't talk much the next few hours. Sakura went into the kitchen to prepare something for dinner, probably leftovers considering the time. Sarada followed her silently, moving to set the table for them both like normal. They walked around the kitchen in a routine. The silence stretched between them, both too caught up in their thoughts to really speak. Some small conversations rose up, but they fizzled before they became anything substantial.

It wasn't until her mother was tucking her into bed that Sarada finally gathered the courage to ask the question she had wanted an answer to all day.

"Mama, where's Boruto?"

Sakura froze, her fingers clenching around the sheets. Sarada saw the way her forehead wrinkled and how her hands began to tremble against the bed. A feeling of guilt welled up in her stomach and Sarada looked away.

"Sorry, I shouldn't have-"

"Sarada," her mother interrupted. The girl whirled her head around to look back up at her mama. Sakura lowered herself onto the edge of the bed and searched her daughter's face for something. Whatever she found, it made her sigh. "I should have expected you'd ask. We weren't very good at hiding it, were we?"

The girl shook her head vigorously. "No, no! It's just that, well, Himawari was crying and he wasn't in school today and Shino-sensei made us leave and everyone's acting really weird and-"

"Sarada, Sarada!" Sakura shushed her, her face relaxing into a slight smile. "Breathe, honey. I get it. I guess it is pretty obvious. You're not babies anymore, after all. It's a bit more difficult to hide things."

"You shouldn't have to hide things," the seven-year-old muttered.

"You're right, I'm sorry," Sakura replied. She reached down to stroke her daughter's hair. "It just takes a bit of adjustment when I'm so used to you being a little girl in need of my protection."

"Well, I'm not that little anymore."

"I know, and I know you deserve to know what happened, but there are some things I can't tell you just yet. Some things you don't need to know. Okay?" Her hand paused on her daughter's head and Sarada looked up at her mother's earnest face.

She nodded. "Okay."

"Good," she kissed Sarada's forehead. "But seeing as you were old enough to ask, I suppose it means you're old enough to understand what I tell you. Now, don't go spreading this around, alright? That might lead to some bad things we're not quite ready for."

"I promise, mama."

"Good," Sakura took a deep breath and for a moment said nothing. Then, placing her hand on her daughter's cheek, she began, "Someone hurt Boruto very badly today. We don't know who they are or why they wanted to hurt him, but he's not doing very well right now."

Sarada felt her eyes widen and she suddenly felt very sick. Her stomach bubbled with nausea and a cold sweat broke across her skin. There was a pressure building up behind her eyes that she tried to ignore. The bed seemed to fall away beneath her. So, when she had been walking to class, Boruto had been-? She cut the thought off, but the idea was persistent and continued to fester. "Mama," she whispered, "B-Boruto didn't join us today when we were walking to school. He always gets a cinnamon bun before class. D-did you already know then?" Her eyes begged her mother to tell her that people had already been alerted before Shino-sensei noticed his absence in class, but the way her mother stared at the sheets crushed that hope. "Mama?"

"No, Sarada. Nobody knew."

"So, when Shino-sensei left…"

"He went to go let Hokage-sama know Boruto was missing," Sakura finished for her. "It's a very good thing he did, too. Shino-sensei probably saved Boruto's life."

Sarada swallowed harshly. "H-he's hurt that bad?"

"Yes, yes he's hurt that bad."

And Sarada couldn't hold it in anymore. She began to cry, tears running down her cheeks and making her glasses feel sticky on her nose. The back of her throat hurt, her body felt hot, and she didn't even notice her mother had gathered her up into her arms until she found herself clinging to the woman's nightshirt. Her mother removed Sarada's glasses (they were already skewed and falling off anyway) and the little girl had no compunctions about rubbing her grubby face into Sakura's stomach.

The medic didn't complain; she just held her daughter tighter, herself reveling in the feeling of being able to do so. The relief she felt that it wasn't Sarada lying in a hospital bed that night warred with her guilt at the very same thing. She clung just that much tighter and Sarada hiccupped against her chest.

"Mama?" Her little girl whimpered. "You're gonna make Boruto better, right? You won't let him get hurt anymore?"

Sakura felt her heart break. Sarada's child-like faith in her conflicted with her knowledge of Boruto's injuries. She stroked the back of her daughter's head. "I'll do my best, my love. I'll do my best."

And Sarada accepted that. Her mama was the best medic in the village. If she said she would do her best, then Boruto would be just fine. He'd be fine and he'd come back to school and everything would go back to normal.

She snuggled further into her mother's arms and tried to convince herself it was true.

* * *

"You better not be here to ask me what I found. My answer hasn't changed."

"That's not why I'm here, Ino."

The Yamanaka woman turned around to face her visitor. "Oh?" She narrowed her eyes and pushed herself off her desk. "Then why are you here?" When the intruder didn't answer, Ino's face softened into confusion and then into concern. "Shikamaru?"

"Boruto's out of surgery," the Nara stated softly.

"Okay," she searched his face. "I don't like how you said that."

"He's not doing well."

Ino froze. She didn't say anything for a minute, her mind trying to adjust to the new information. After a moment of harried thoughts and internal panic, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she said, "Do they need an extra pair of hands?"

Shikamaru shook his head. "No, not now. Just figured you'd want to know before you headed back in."

Ino rolled her eyes and pinned her old teammate with a deadpanned face. "You're a real bastard, you know that, Shikamaru."

He snorted. "So you've told me." He pulled a cigarette from out of his pouch and lit it, bringing the stick up to his mouth and inhaling deeply. Shikamaru let out a contented sigh.

"I thought you quit," Ino remark, eyeing the cigarette in distaste.

"Tch, special circumstances."

Ino nodded. "Just don't make it a habit. I don't want to have to come over and give you a lung scraping." Shikamaru glared at her, but the woman threw it off with efficiency born from years of practice. Her expression turned serious. "How are Naruto and Hinata?"

"How do you think?" The man spat. He then let out a weighty sigh and ground his cigarette in the lacquered flooring. "They're as well as can be expected. Tsunade-sama gave me the update. Kid's in a coma. Can't breathe on his own. They had to set him up on a ventilator."

Ino closed her eyes and turned away. "Gods." She shook her head before turning back to look at him. "Himawari?"

"With Shino. No one seems to have made a move on her."

"Well, I guess that's something," she admitted, jostling her feet and then moving back towards her desk. She played with the papers lying on the polished cherry wood and glanced back at her friend. "Have the boys said anything?"

The desire to light another cigarette burned through him, but Shikamaru refrained. Temari wouldn't be happy if he came back smelling like a chimney. He nodded his head. "They want to know what happened. Temari's been trying to distract them, but they're not five anymore. She thinks we should tell Shikadai, but she wanted your permission to talk to Inojin."

Ino slumped against the edge of the desk and ran a tired hand through her ponytail. This was going to give her grey hair. "Tell her she can give him the basics, but I want to give him the rest. I'll be by to pick him up as soon as Anko comes to relieve me."

"Didn't she retire?"

"Leave of absence, actually. Gives her the right to come back whenever she feels like it."

"And, of course, she feels like it now."

"Are you kidding me?" Ino raised an eyebrow and grinned. "We all wanna come in now. We haven't had this much excitement in years." Her grin stretched into a sneer. "Besides, we're all itching to catch these bastards."

Shikamaru chuckled. "Oh, I believe you. The whole village is snarling. Temari's been murmuring death threats under her breath for hours and I'm pretty sure she's already sent off a missive to Gaara. Don't be surprised if he and Kankuro suddenly appear within the next few days."

"Now that I can't wait to see," Ino quipped, feeling every bit as gleeful about the possibility as she appeared. If she asked, the two men would probably be willing to help out in the interrogation department. Gaara could still pull off the deranged psychopath expression perfectly and Kankuro was just eerie.

"Don't go setting up a schedule just yet," Shikamaru said as if he could read her mind. "They still have to get the message."

Ino waved the words away. "I know, I know. A woman can plan, though." She smirked, but it soon fell away as all humor seemed to be doing the past few hours. She sighed and fingered the keys attached to her belt. "I should be able to get through one more before Anko gets here. Mind watching Inojin till then? I think Sai's still rifling through all the evidence, if all the reports I keep getting are anything to go by."

Shikamaru nodded his head. "No problem. Anything you want me to tell him while I play messenger."

Ino grinned. "Yes. Tell him 'mommy loves him and she knows about the ink stains on the carpet that he tried to cover up this morning by moving the furniture'."

Shikamaru grunted. "Anything else?" he asked.

"Nope, that's about it."

He rolled his eyes. "Right. Bring your last report to me when you come by. I'll handle them tonight."

She nodded, her eyes becoming downcast at the thought of her friends. "Of course, and let me know if they need me for anything."

His lips pursed a bit and he indicated his head to the hallway. "Just do what you're doing."

"Got it," she muttered. Then she was waving her hand towards the door, shooing him away. "Now, get going. You have to give Inojin my love."

"Tch, troublesome," but he left and Ino remained leaning against her desk staring at the empty room.

She sighed, slumping against the wood and massaging her forehead. Ino could quite safely say she hadn't felt this tired in years, but she refused to complain. It wouldn't get her anything except perhaps an even more painful headache. She looked around the room one more time – same wood flooring, same desk, same bookshelf piled high with psychology books and training scrolls. It had been her office for almost five years now. With Ibiki's retirement, she was now the head of Torture and Interrogation, and she took great pride in it. If anyone could wheedle information out of someone, she could.

Ino unzipped the top of her shirt, allowing for just a small amount of cleavage to show, before hopping off her desk and waltzing down the corridor. Her grey interrogator's coat swished dramatically behind her as she made her way to the prisoners' ward. Her subordinates saluted her as she passed, but no one stopped to chat, all of them far to busy to speak of anything not pertaining to work. They scurried about the halls of The House, ignoring and thriving off the screams filtering from the rooms below.

The House was so named because when Ino first became head of the department, Inojin was a baby and she didn't want to tell him exactly where she worked. She ended up telling him she worked at the house next to Ichiraku ramen and, eventually, people began picking it up. Inojin was now old enough to know what she did for a living, but the name had stuck and no one really bothered to think of changing it back.

It didn't hurt that it appealed to the dramatics of most of the workers.

But Ino didn't care about such things now. She was too focused on reaching her destination. Her high heels _click clack_-ed across the polished floor, echoing throughout the corridors in such a way as to throw the prisoners off guard. Anticipation, Ino found, did more for her guests than pain ever could.

She sliced her thumb over the blood seal marking the entrance to the ward and entered without hassle. Sensory deprivation rooms allowed for the prisoners to neither see, nor feel, nor smell anyone approach. All they could do was wait and hear the telltale _clack_-ing of her heels.

Ino rounded the corner, listing off numbers in her head: _C-129_, _C-131_, _C-133_. She reached the next cell and placed her hand on the seal beside the door that read: C-135. The seal glowed purple for a second and her hand prickled in a familiar sensation. It lasted only a second before the ink returned to normal and the door opened.

She stepped inside, taking deliberate steps so as to enhance the soft sound of her shoes. The door closed shut behind her and lights suddenly blared to life. The prisoner, a perfectly average man in an unremarkable shinobi uniform, jumped in pain at the sudden change. Ino hid a smirk.

Taking slow, languid steps forward, she assessed the man before her. He appeared to be in his mid-thirties, with dark brown hair and a smattering of freckles on his cheeks. Considering how he jumped when the lights came on, Ino guessed he couldn't have been any more advanced than your run-of-the-mill chuunin. The information he had probably wasn't much, but even the smallest detail could be important and Ino was very good when it came to picking up details.

She crouched down low as she reached the man, her cleavage sitting just slightly below his eye-line, watching as he attempted to move as far away from her as the chains would allow. It wasn't very far, but she gave him an A for effort. Ino let a smile grace her face, creating it to be perfectly beautiful and enticing. She allowed the image of Boruto's body lying bloody on the grass to sharpen its edges. Taking his cheek in her hand, she took some pleasure in watching her nails rake across his skin.

Ino leaned in, her lips brushing against the man's ear. "I hope you're comfortable, sir. We have a long night ahead of us." Inojin superimposed Boruto in her mind for only a split second, but it was enough for her face to harden. Her nails dug into the man's face, blood beading along the flesh as she forced him to look into her now narrowed eyes. "To think, this could have been avoided so easily. Oh well.

"_Shintenshin no Jutsu_."

* * *

Yugakure was really no different that than the vast majority of other places Sasuke had visited in the last few years. There were trees (like most places), onsens (pretty impressive, he would admit, but they were still just a bunch of hot springs), rocks (self-explanatory), and craters – lots and lots and _lots_ of craters. So many craters that half the time Sasuke was convinced he could spend the entire day walking and remain in the exact same one.

Considering the fact that most of the Fourth War was fought in this country, Sasuke would give them a pass.

He still didn't like the country much, though. The people were a little…off. Not that they weren't nice - they were – they just weren't particularly fond of outsiders. Part of this struck Sasuke as odd because the entire country was mostly advertised as a resort, but he supposed the locals were a bit tired of it. He'd probably be tired of it too if he had to live surrounded by tourists all day.

Still, Sasuke preferred to spend most of his time away from the locals. He liked the silence the forests brought him; it was calm, he had nowhere to be, and no one was running after him. He liked enjoying the simple things after spending so long in his anger. It gave him time to think – to look for the good things he had missed in his years of wallowing in his own self-loathing.

Sasuke took a drink of water from his canteen. One thing he would admit: Yugakure certainly had some of the freshest water he had ever had. Currently, he was relaxing in his makeshift camp, his back resting against a tree and a warm fire blazing before him. His cloak sat drying by the flames, its wool still damp by the earlier rain. Night had long since fallen and the skies were thankfully cloudless. He fiddled with the object in his pocket.

Like usual, he didn't remove the item. It remained in his pocket as his fingers caressed the worn metal. He knew every dent, every chip, every design on the case and he could draw its contents with his eyes closed. Sasuke much preferred feeling it than looking at it. Feeling was comfortable; seeing was longing. If he looked at the pictures, he would want to go back, and he just couldn't go back yet. His mission wasn't over.

The Uchiha leaned his head back against the wood and closed his eyes, inhaling the scent of rain and smoke. He ignored the winter chill. He'd felt worse and the fire provided more than enough warmth. For the moment, Sasuke was content.

"Uchiha-san." There was a popping sound and the man opened his eyes languidly, unconcerned by the sudden appearance of one of Naruto's toads. The Hokage tended to send Sasuke numerous notes, some of them important, but most were just to keep in contact. He seemed to find some sort of perverse pleasure out of writing long messages just to get one or two word replies.

Sasuke might have enjoyed it too.

"Hmm?" He sounded, raising an eyebrow and looking at the red and orange toad in disinterest. Gamadoro was one of Naruto's more common messengers so he wasn't unknown. The toad was fast and seemed to have a good instinct for where to find him.

What could Naruto possibly want now?

"Naruto-sama has an urgent message for you. Will you accept?" The toad asked.

Sasuke didn't verbally reply, he just reached out his hand for the note and Gamadoro opened his mouth to deposit a scroll with Naruto's personal seal on it. Now he was intrigued. Usually, the Hokage's seal was only used in serious matters.

He raised his other eyebrow and looked at the toad. Gamadoro stared steadily back, not even flinching at the mismatched eyes. Sasuke looked back down and gazed at the letter closer. Suddenly, he saw something under his friend's insignia and his eyes widened.

Sasuke's head flew up, his gaze intense and piercing. "This is a blood seal."

Gamadoro nodded, unsurprised. "It is."

"What happened?"

"Naruto-sama has stated everything in his letter."

"And I'm asking you."

"I'm not at liberty to say," the toad fired back. "You are not my summoner, Uchiha-san."

Sasuke snorted, but looked back down at the note. He had to hand it to Gamadoro – the toad had guts. Choosing not to argue, Sasuke bit his thumb and smeared his blood over the seal. It glowed red for a second and then disintegrated, the parchment unfolding before him.

The man skimmed the note at first, only slightly interested, before stopping and hurriedly moving back to the beginning. His Sharingan activated subconsciously as he committed the words to memory. He felt his fingers tighten over the paper and a fire ignited in his stomach. It burned through his body, flooding his veins and seeping into the air. Gamadoro twitched, but otherwise made no comment on the sudden change in temperature.

Naruto's note caught fire and it quickly disintegrated into ashes.

Sasuke turned flashing eyes to the toad, his Mangekyou whirling in tandem with the Rinnegan. It was a distinctly unsettling look and Gamadoro actually backed up a step. He really hoped to never be on the receiving end of such a glare ever again.

Dumping the ashes into the mud beside him, Sasuke stood and grabbed his cloak. It was still slightly damp, but he didn't care. Extinguishing the fire, he gazed back down at the toad and said, "They better not be late."

And he was off, bounding into the trees at a speed he hadn't had need for in quite a while. He missed Gamadoro's exit, the smoke mixing in with that of the dead fire, as he kept his eyes focused in front of him. Sasuke clutched the picture frame in his pocket tighter and the faces of its subjects stared back at him from his mind's eye.

Naruto's last words echoed in his head:

_They tried to kill my son_.

Sasuke ran faster.

* * *

**Yeah, I left it there. Thank you so much for reading and I hope you enjoyed. Please review, but don't flame. I appreciate constructive criticism, but flames don't help anyone improve. Hopefully, the next chapter will be up soon, but I don't want to give you a date and then not have it up, so I'll leave it at soon. And yes, the next chapter will have more Naruto and Hinata. Thank you so much once again and have a wonderful day/night!**

**~Alabaster Ink**


	3. I Wouldn't Rip The Stars From The Sky

**I am so sorry for how long this took! Initially, the story was only meant to be a one-shot, but when I decided to write more I had to work out a few more kinks. I also had some writer's block. Now that I have a plan, however, the updates should happen much more smoothly and frequently. **

**Thank you everyone for your kind reviews last time! Hopefully, you all enjoy this chapter as well!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**What I Wouldn't Do**

**Chapter 3: I Wouldn't Rip The Stars From The Sky**

ANBU Ushi sped through the trees at a pace many would have found impossible to match. His feet barely touched the wood, instead seeming to glide right over it as if he were skating in mid air. Willowy limbs swayed slightly against the wind, though he gave no sign of feeling the chill. Snow in this area was rare due to the numerous amounts of volcanic activity. It kept the landscape, if not warm, at least not freezing, and perfectly suitable for scouting in the dead of winter.

His team, a uniformed group of four, ran nimbly behind him. Their feet were light and silent as they bound through the forest. None showed any sign of fatigue despite the fact that they'd been running for almost ten hours straight. Dawn was starting to bloom on the horizon, a lightening blue filling up the sky. It would be light soon, and the team wanted to make it to the rendezvous point before then.

"Coming up on the Valley," Ushi said into the monitor. "Prepare pyramid." The words transponded into his teams earpieces, and they nodded their understanding, despite knowing he couldn't see.

"Affirmative, captain," ANBU Kirin replied from his place at the rear. He took a leap backwards as ANBU Yagi and Rakuda spread outwards to form a diamond formation, and ANBU Uma remained in the center. "Pyramid enacted."

Ushi nodded. "Received. Trace area."

From his position, Kirin grunted. "Byakugan," he murmured. The forest suddenly grayscaled; the only color to be seen were the chakra pools of his teammates. He held the sight for a moment more before turning it off. "No activity, captain."

"Good. Rakuda," he barked.

"Sir." And then there were bugs, hundreds of them spreading outwards into the trees. When they had finally disappeared from view, Ushi tilted his head towards Yagi and nodded.

Yagi dropped lower on the branches, her arm extended outwards to touch the trunks. With each tree, she released a seal that corresponded to the technology in her gloves. Every spike in foreign chakra would be recorded by the seals and sent directly to her.

"Approaching Valley in 20 kilometers," Ushi called.

The trees began to thin as the group ran further towards the border. Even this far out, they could hear the rushing water from the falls. Five minutes later the forests began to turn rocky and the ground muddy. The team began to slow.

"Stop," Nu's leader stated, lifting his hand up. He dropped into the nearest clearing as his team followed behind. They situated themselves into a diamond, with Uma still in the center. Ushi turned to Yagi. "Any signals?"

"Negative. Nothing out of the ordinary," she said.

Ushi nodded and looked at Kirin. The Hyuuga, his fists slightly more tense than was appropriate, activate his Byakugan. He again scanned the area before shaking his head. "Nothing, sir."

"Understood," Ushi eyed him for a moment, his ox mask making for a slightly unnerving stare. "Relax, Kirin."

Kirin took a deep breath. "I apologize, sir. I'm trying."

Ushi turned away. "Try harder."

"Sir," the Hyuuga intoned, though it wasn't hard to hear the clenching of his teeth. Uma laid a hand on his shoulder, soothing green chakra seeping from her palm.

"Uma," their leader snapped, startling her. She didn't visibly react, but Kirin could feel the fluctuation of chakra. "Save your reserves for later." Uma reluctantly removed her hand and Kirin admitted he missed the feeling. Before he could say something however, Rakuda tensed.

"Captain, my kikaichu are reporting an anomaly," he said.

The team immediately went on the defense. Kirin activated his Byakugan, pathways pulsing behind his giraffe mask as he scanned the area. He pushed his sight as far as he could and almost gave up when a flicker appeared on his peripheral. It got brighter and brighter until-

"Yagi!" He shouted as the world suddenly exploded. His teammate's goat mask was blown away, and there were flashes as exploding tags went off around them and the team was forced to separate.

From out of the ground, numerous hands shot up, stretching so as to latch onto the fleeing shinobis' legs. Yagi was immediately caught and pulled downwards before she could react. The ground closed around her and there was another explosion. On Ushi's palm, Yagi's life statistics went dark.

"Shit," he muttered to himself. He tried to alter the frequency on his communication quickly so as to reach his team, but it was useless. A jammer had obviously been put in place and all he could hear was static. Another explosion caught his attention and he had no more time to think of his team.

In another part of the forest, Rakuda's kikaichu were swarming against a group of five indistinguishable shinobi. Blank, black masks covered their faces without even any eyeholes for them to see through. It was distinctly unnerving to fight against, but Rakuda was a trained member of ANBU and didn't give any visible reaction of his discomfort. He just continued to send out swarms of kikaichu in an attempt to drain his opponents, while he followed behind with his tanto.

Separating one of the assailants from his head, Rakuda was nonetheless shocked when the man didn't drop to the ground. Instead, the body just continued to fight, as if losing his head was a mere inconvenience. Rakuda paused for only a second, but it was a second he couldn't really afford. One of the men flew right through the swarm of bugs protecting him and ran a nodachi through his sternum. The ANBU gasped, choked, and then fell through the trees in a lifeless slump, his camel mask shattering on impact. His bugs fell soon after.

On the ground, Kirin and Uma stood back-to-back fighting against another group of black-robed assailants. While formidable, the horse-masked medic was nowhere near the level of Tsunade or Sakura in terms of taijutsu. Her skills lay more squarely in the field of medicine, and she was having a hard time against their obviously taijutsu-oriented enemies. Chakra scalpels in hand, she whirled and sliced, attempting to hit something vital that would make them fall. Nothing seemed to be working.

"They don't have any pathways," Kirin shouted over the sounds of the fight. "It's solid chakra!"

"What?" She exclaimed, not chancing a look at him.

"They're not real!" He yelled out before he was suddenly caught from behind by one of the men. Kirin jerked, grabbing the man's head and tossing him over his shoulder. He fired a chakra-coated palm into the man's face only for it to phase right through as if it were made of black mist.

"W-what the hel-" But he was cut off as Uma's head was suddenly separated from her neck and sent flying. "Uma!"

He had no time to react because next thing he knew there was another explosion and he could feel heat on his face as his mask shattered from the pressure. His eyes burned and he could feel hands – claws – digging into his shoulders. They pressed further, like sharpened knives into his flesh. It _hurt_, it _burned_, it _tore_ at him. He wanted it to stop, stop, _stop_.

He was cold. There was a hole in his chest and his fingers felt wet from searching. The last firing of electrical signals to his brain noted it was probably blood. Everywhere was dark and his Byakugan wasn't working.

_I'm sorry, Hinata-sama_,_ Naruto-sa_-, he collapsed to the ground, unmoving.

Ushi watched as the last statistic went black on his palm. He held in the curse that threatened to escape, knowing this was no time for regrets or anger. He could feel the enemy converging on his spot and he attempted to delay them with long-ranged genjutsu. For a moment, it seemed to take. He took the opportunity to burrow into the ground, hoping to catch his breath and think up a plan. First, he had to contact Konoha. They were probably aware of his teammates' deaths, the tracers placed under the skin already relaying a lack of electrical activity back to ANBU headquarters. As mission captain, however, it was his duty to send back as much information as possible before his too fell black.

He twisted the monitor on his glove, switching from _Statistics_ to _Relay_. With bloody fingers, he typed out a three-word code, along with his coordinates. Just as he was about to send out the information on the assailants, the ground shook and Ushi found his air bubble disintegrating. He quickly scrambled to move, but soon realized his feet had been cemented to the dirt. The soil started to pile in and Ushi could feel himself panicking. He had to get out, he had to move. His chakra wasn't responding, his limbs wouldn't react, the air was getting tighter. There was a grinding sound from above him and then _light_ – glorious, glorious light. Had one of his teammates tricked the sensors?

But then a black mask appeared and Ushi felt the blood drain from his face. A spike made of earth appeared from above him and the ANBU only had a second to register his fate. Then, there was a _whoosh_-ing sound, a flash of red, and pain. Ushi's mask shattered and his world descended into oblivion.

Back in Konoha, Kiba hung is head as the last of Team Nu's statistics went dark.

* * *

Hinata didn't know when she'd fallen asleep, but when she awoke it was to find her face smooshed into the side of her son's bed, her hands still wrapped around his and a blanket draped across her shoulders. Sunlight streamed through the window, hitting each corner of the room so as to make it as bright and happy as possible. It reflected off her son's face to pinpoint every angle and highlight upon the little color he had been able to regain overnight. He was still pale, but his skin no longer blended into the bed sheets and there was a slight rosiness to his cheeks that had been absent the day before. Hinata reached up her hand to brush aside a strand of blond hair.

"He hasn't moved," she heard from behind her.

Hinata sighed. "I figured as much, but I'd hoped-" she shook her head. "Never mind." She turned to her husband, watching as he sat up straighter on the couch and lowered the document he'd been reading. His face was pale and drawn, and he kept pinching the bridge of his nose as if to ward off a headache. "Did you get any sleep?"

"Enough," was his reply.

"Naruto."

"I needed to look over the reports."

"You needed to sleep," Hinata insisted. "What if-"

"Hinata, please." He looked at her imploringly, begging her not to press. "I needed to-I couldn't just-" he broke off with a frustrated sigh and roughly ran his hands through his hair.

Hinata tensed. "What happened?"

"Nothing."

"Naruto-"

"No, I mean there's nothing. There's nothing in these _goddamn_ reports that tells us anything." He flung the paper onto the couch with a force that made Hinata flinch. She chanced a glance at her son, saw that he remained undisturbed, and then turned back to her husband.

She struggled with herself for a moment; the desire to keep holding her son's hand warred with the desire to help her husband. In the end, she forced her fingers apart and rose from her seat. She walked tentatively towards him – not because she was afraid of another outburst, but more because he looked like he might break – and sat beside him on the couch. Carefully, she took his hand in her own and squeezed.

"Naruto," she murmured, gently grasping his chin. "You need to sleep. You're not doing Boruto any good like this."

"I can't," he stressed.

"Why not?"

Instead of answering, he reached over to the last slip of paper and placed it on her lap. Hinata stared questioningly at him for a moment before picking up the paper and beginning to read. The message was short, barely even worth the paper it was written on, but the words made her blood run cold.

_Oblate. _Stop_. Randan. _Stop_. Calenture. _Stop_. _

Codes in Konoha worked on the basis of assigning random words to every situation a shinobi could potentially find themselves in. Generally, there was no rhyme or reason to these terms, as doing so would make them that much easier to crack. They changed at random times – sometimes a week, sometimes a day – and shinobi were drilled even so far back as the first day of the Academy to learn how to memorize the list at first glance.

Hinata had been a kunoichi for almost fifteen years, and she'd been in training ever since she was old enough to hold a kunai. It was in her blood, her body, her every action. However peaceful the world was now, that didn't mean she'd stayed idle. Hinata was still very much an active kunoichi. This code was already two days old; she knew the entire list by heart.

_Oblate_ – Konoha shinobi in distress

_Randan_ – Suspected enemy shinobi involvement

_Calenture_ – Reinforcements required

"We lost contact with Team Nu two hours ago," Naruto said, mumbling through his hands. His blue eyes locked with her's and Hinata felt her fingers numb. "Kiba received this not long after."

"They haven't been out for more than twenty-four hours."

Naruto nodded. "And now they're missing."

"What could this mean?"

She watched as his lips pursed, the edges of his eyes crinkling in worry. "I don't know. They're a new team, Hinata, but they're not pushovers. And they were still within the borders. There shouldn't have been any problems."

Hinata let out a breath she didn't realize she'd been holding. "The recovery team?"

"Won't arrive for another few hours."

Hinata nodded her head, absently. She'd expected as such. Still, taking in the lines on Naruto's face, and the way he hung his head, there had to be something else. He knew he had to sleep and yet he'd stayed up – why?

"Naruto. Talk to me. What is it?" She asked, wrapping her arm around his shoulders, while maintaining a firm grasp on his hand.

He mumbled something, something far too low for here to hear and she leaned in closer. "Naruto?"

A choked sigh. "I sent them out there. They were a new team, 'Nata. Kiba only just released them from training a few months ago."

"You couldn't know this would happen," she soothed, trying to reason with him, but Naruto seemed hell-bent on ignoring her.

"This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to them. Not to Boruto. The world was supposed to be safer now."

She glanced away. She couldn't help it. Unfortunately, that put her in the perfect position to see her son's still form. Hinata closed her eyes. "It'll be okay. Boruto'll be okay. He's as strong as his father."

Naruto's lips twitched. "And as brave as his mother." He squeezed her hand. She rested her head on his shoulder.

For a moment, the only sounds in the room were the rhythmic beeping of the heart monitor and the wheezing from the ventilator. Hinata took comfort in her husband's warmth. She threaded her fingers lightly through his hair and felt him calm against her. He tried so hard to make this world safe for their children and this happens. A lump formed in her throat. She knew sleep hadn't come easily to her; how could she expect it to come to him? And with everything he would have to do now, she shouldn't have been surprised.

"Do you know what you're going to say to the Council?" Hinata asked after a beat.

She felt him shake his head. "No. We don't have any more information than we did yesterday. Ino's still going through prisoners, and Sai and Tenten have taken to splitting up all the equiptment we recovered. And now we have this whole mess with Team Nu-" he broke off.

Hinata couldn't think of anything to say that would help him. The entire situation was one disaster after another, and it didn't seem to be getting any better any time soon. She bit her lip to stem her anxiety, but all it did was break skin.

"And no word yet from Sasuke?"

"No, and Shikamaru will be here soon," he said, looking at the clock. "We need to go over a response. We've managed to contain the details for the most part, but the shinobi are all on edge and the civilians are picking up on it. Gaara and Darui have already been informed. Kakashi's put his trip on hold and is coming back. We need to come up with something to tell them."

"And I need to inform the clan," she muttered. "Father and Hanabi are still in the capital."

"Shit," he murmured under his breath, dragging a hand across his face. His eyes flickered to their son. "Do you want me to come?"

Yes, yes she did. But at the same time, she didn't want to leave Boruto here alone.

She shook her head. "No, I can do it."

Naruto eyed her for a moment. He knew, as well as she did, that the clan was very protective of their own. This was going to throw them into a frenzy, one Hinata might not be in the right state to handle. Granted, Naruto wasn't exactly in tip-top shape himself.

"Don't worry about me," she said, momentarily cupping his cheek. "I'll be fine. I know how to handle the elders. Besides, Shino placed some of his bugs on me. I saw one crawl into Boruto's hair last night."

"Heh, good ol' Shino." Naruto smirked.

"Yes," Hinata smiled. There was a comfort in the knowledge that both her husband and her friend were watching over him. Enough of a comfort that she should be able to handle anything the clan might do. "He really is a wonderful friend."

"He is," her husband agreed. "I wonder how he's managed with Himawari?"

Hinata laughed despite herself. "I'm sure he's done a wonderful job, as usual. Himawari really loves her Uncle Shino."

"That she does. We should probably rescue him before she starts asking questions, though."

"If she hasn't already." And honestly, the likelihood of that was incredibly slim. "I should go get her."

"Do you want me to-"

"No, no you said Shikamaru was coming here. Best I go. We can switch later." But even as she said it, the thought of leaving caused an ache to build up in her chest. She didn't want to go. She didn't want to leave Boruto here without his mother. He needed her.

"Hinata?"

"Sorry, I'm being silly." She looked away. Boruto didn't need her here. He probably wasn't even aware of anything going on around him. Besides, he had his father. It was perfectly alright if she left.

Naruto's fingers brushed against her chin, forcing her to look at him. He searched her face for only a moment before Hinata felt herself being pulled into his embrace. She sank into it.

"You're not being silly," he murmured into her ear. "You're being a mother. And you're in a situation with no solution. But we can't just leave Himawari alone. Especially with these people still out there."

"I just want them both to be safe."

"They will be," Naruto insisted. "I promise you, they will be. We'll find out who did this and we'll make sure they pay for it. But we have two children, Hinata, and our daughter needs her mother."

"She needs her father, too."

"I know."

Hinata adjusted her head so she could see his face. She took in the sheen across his eyes and the way his skin seemed to pale even further. There was a shakiness to his grip that he was trying to hide.

"You'll tell me what Shikamaru says?"

"Of course."

She nodded her head. If Naruto said he would tell her, he would. They were in this together. She placed her hand on his chest, right above his heart.

"I love you."

Her words were soft, earnest. She just needed to remind him before he buried himself in the mess they were now embroiled in.

A smile, so small that if Hinata blinked she would have missed it, twitched at his lips and he pressed them to her brow. She could hear a deep intake of breath as he took in her scent and his arms tightened just slightly around her.

"I love you, too," he whispered.

Hinata squeezed his arm before reluctantly pulling away. She had to leave before her resolve left her. Hinata kissed her husband softly on the lips, before fully leaving his embrace. He let her go only reluctantly. On lead feet, she made her way over to her son. Brushing aside his sweaty blond hair, she placed a kiss on his forehead.

"Mama loves you, Boruto. You be good for daddy, okay?" There was no response from the boy and Hinata hadn't expected one. Still, she had to swallow passed the lump in her throat. She kissed his forehead again, lingering to take him in. "I'll be back soon."

Hinata tossed one last look at her husband. He nodded his head and she gathered up her strength to pick up her feet and move. Each step was like moving through molasses – heavy, slow, and sickening. Before she could stop herself, she pushed her way out of the room and into the calm of the hallway.

There was almost a relief to finally being out of that room. 'Almost' in that it took all she had not to go running back in to embrace her son and never let him go. She rid herself of the notion before it could even take root. No. She had a daughter to look after – a daughter to look after, a clan to sooth, and a village to keep calm. There was no room in there to fall into selfish desires. She was a kunoichi, the wife of the Hokage, and she had a job to do.

Coming back up into the busy hospital atmosphere was surreal. Doctors went about their business as per usual and none of the multitude of patients seemed the least bit aware of the current situation. Occasionally, a few of them would look at her with something akin to worry, but she wasn't approached and was able to make her way unimpeded towards the entrance. Sunlight, noticeably more natural than what she had been exposed to before, bathed the halls and stepping outside was like a smack in the face.

Winter had certainly arrived in Konoha. The cold chill seeped in through her thin jacket and she suddenly felt very foolish for being so unprepared. Everything had happened so suddenly yesterday, she hadn't even thought about the cold. Today, she wanted nothing more than to bury her head under a blanket. Maybe she could drown out the world that way.

Hinata mentally slapped herself. Thinking like that could only get people needlessly hurt. She didn't need to add her daughter's body to the already too-high count. The callous truth was that she needed logic, not emotions. They would weigh her down; impede her ability to think. And in this situation, thinking – planning – was the most important job she had.

She moved gracefully along the roadside, her face a careful mask of calm, as she made her way towards Shino's house. With extreme effort, she forced herself to compartmentalize. All the anger and abject terror she'd been feeling were shoved aside into a little corner of her mind as she'd been taught. It was a fragile setup, prone to breaking, but she made a concerted effort to list off everything she would have to do in the coming days to distract herself.

First and foremost, she had to make sure Himawari was safe. The little girl was only five and, so far, uniformed about recent events. Hinata needed to make sure it stayed that way. She would obviously have to tell her daughter something, but that something would be very watered down. Not to mention she would have to work out an ANBU rotation for the girl. She could feel her own ANBU guard following her as she walked. They weren't even trying to hide their presence. Himawari's own guard had been hastily erected and supplemented by the Aburame Clan. She would have to go over it in more depth later today, if Naruto didn't get to it first.

She also had to talk to the clan. It was with no small amount of pride that Hinata could say that the Hyuuga had changed drastically since she was a child. They were far more united now than they had ever been before and an assault on the clan head's grandson would be viewed as an attack on the clan itself. They would be out for blood, and, while Hinata whole-heartedly agreed, it would do them no good to go attacking people left and right. While her father was away, Hinata was in charge. She needed to make sure they didn't try something without her knowledge.

And then, well, and then she would meet with the tracker teams. Depending on what they said would determine her next move. An idea was forming in the back of her mind, half-baked and spotty as it was. Team Nu's disappearance concerned her, especially considering their abilities. While new to the ANBU, they weren't unskilled. Kiba had trained them into the ground to be one of the top tracking and infiltration teams Konoha had seen in years. For them to go missing so suddenly…

Hinata didn't like the implications.

The peace that had pervaded over the hidden villages for so many years was now hanging by a knife's edge. In the eyes of the world, an attack on the Hokage's son was an attack on the village at large. It was almost as much a political nightmare as it was a parental one. A course of action would need to be decided and a public response addressed. The other villages would need to be brought in eventually due to how intertwined they all were now, and that just opened a whole new can of worms Hinata couldn't think about right now.

They didn't even have a perpetrator yet. Not a real one, at least.

Her husband's theory niggled at her mind.

If Orochimaru really was behind this it could only mean worse things for the future. The man hadn't been seen or heard from since the end of the war. For him to make himself known now meant he had a plan – a plan he had likely been working on for years. But on the opposite spectrum, if this was an entirely new entity, then they had no way of predicting their movements, their motivations. They would have no way of knowing what to look out for.

Hinata wasn't sure which one she dreaded more.

Her hands started to shake from something other than the cold and she stuffed them in her pockets to try and hide it. In the distance, she saw the Aburame Hive begin to appear. The entire compound was situated behind a pretty wood fence that's only real purpose was to let others know they were on clan land. While further way from the main hub of the village, the homes were nonetheless welcoming to those who braved the hike. Windows were generally left ajar and the only compound with more flowers belonged to the Yamanaka. Faintly, Hinata could hear the familiar sound of buzzing and she smiled despite herself. One couldn't enter the Aburame grounds and not feel instantly soothed.

It was Shino who met her at the door, Himawari already dressed and ready for her. The little girl stood clinging to her uncle, fidgeting back and forth in an effort not to run right to her. Hinata could see her feet shuffling in indecision. Evidently, Himawari seemed to decide it wasn't worth it, and she immediately let go of Shino's hand to run into her mother's waiting arms.

"Mama!" She yelled, her tiny arms reaching out to wrap around her mother's neck.

Hinata embraced her with just as much fervor. She briefly met Shino's shaded gaze before burying her face in her daughter's hair. The mother took in her child's fresh scent and relished in the feeling of Himawari's arms around her neck. Hinata felt her walls breaking. Tears prickled at her eyes, but she fought them back. Himawari couldn't see her crying.

Unfortunately, it would seem her daughter was more perceptive than she gave her credit for.

"What's wrong, mama?" Himawari asked. The little girl's tiny fingers cupped her mother's face and Hinata found herself trying to choke out a response. Her daughter was so innocent. For a moment, all she could manage was a smile.

"Nothing, baby," she tried to assure her. "I just missed you so much."

She hoped it took. She hoped Himawari just accepted it. But the little pout on the five-year-old's face said she was reluctant to believe her mother. Hinata tried to smile brighter.

Thankfully, it worked. Himawari grinned. "I missed you too, mama. Is Boru-nii home yet?"

Hinata felt the blood drain from her face. Her son flashed before her. She took a deep breath and shakily shook her head. "Not yet, sweetheart. Boru-nii got hurt yesterday and he can't come home right now."

"Oh," Himawari looked down at her lap and Hinata's heart broke just the slightest bit. She felt as her daughter's fingers reached up to play with her hair. It was a nervous habit the girl had picked up from Naruto. Both of them loved to play with her hair whenever they were preoccupied with something. "When can he come home?" She heard Himawari ask and she struggled to find a satisfying answer.

"Soon, baby. He'll come home soon."

"How soon?"

"As soon as Tsunade-sama says he can," she answered.

"He's with Obaa-chan?"

"Yes, sweetie. He's with Obaa-chan and daddy right now."

"And Obaa-chan is making him better?"

Hinata hiccupped. "Yeah, Obaa-chan is making him better." Obaa-chan was doing all she could.

"Can we go see him? I miss Boru-nii."

"I-" Hinata started. She tried desperately to find a way to answer her daughter without disappointing her. She looked to Shino. Her old teammate always knew what to say. Everything, that is, except for something like this. The Aburame's posture was rigid and she could pick up on the tensing of his knuckles that suggested he was uncomfortable. Hinata sagged. "Maybe later, honey. But right now we can't."

"But I wanna see him now."

"I know, but Boru-nii needs to sleep." He needs to sleep. He needs to get better. He needs to heal a bit more before she could let her daughter see him. "You don't want to wake him up, right?"

"No," Himawari fiddled with Hinata's hair. "But I can see him later?"

"Yes, we can go see him later." Much, much later. Like when Boruto wasn't covered from head to toe in bandages.

Himawari pouted. "Okay."

"Now say 'thank you' to Shino-oji-chan," Hinata said, pointing her finger to the man who had very patiently waited for them to finish.

Himawari instantly brightened. "Thank you, Shino-oji-chan. I had lots and lots of fun!"

Shino inclined his head and a smile pulled at his lips. "You're very welcome, Himawari-chan. Why? Because we enjoy having you in our home."

Himawari giggled and Hinata felt just the slightest bit better. At least her daughter was laughing.

"Thank you, Shino-kun," she said, pouring as much sincerity into the words as she could.

"I was no trouble, Hinata-chan," Shino reassured. "Himawari-chan is always welcome in our home."

Hinata smiled. "I know. Thank you."

"You're welcome," Shino nodded. "Give our regards to Hokage-sama."

"You know he doesn't like it when his friends call him that," Hinata teased halfheartedly.

"He worked hard for it. It would be remiss of me to call him otherwise."

Hinata chuffed. "I'll let you take that up with him."

"I will. Perhaps it might help him remember me."

It was a good thing she knew him so well, or else Hinata might have mistaken his bland tone for seriousness. "To be fair, you were hiding most of your face back then."

"That is not an excuse."

Hinata chuckled in amused exasperation, when a tug at her blouse brought her attention back to Himawari. "Mama, what are you talking about? Why wouldn't daddy remember Shino-oji-chan?"

"No reason, honey. It's just a very old joke."

"Joke?"

"Shino-kun…" Hinata shook her head ruefully. Taking another glance at her daughter, she said, "We shouldn't keep Shino-oji-chan from his day, though. Say good-bye, Hima."

"Bye-bye, Shino-ji!"

The Aburame returned Himawari's wave. "Good-bye, Himawari-chan. Have a good day."

"You too!"

Hinata reached forward to pull her old teammate a hug. Even after all these years, Shino was still rather uncomfortable with such public displays of affection, but they had been friends for long enough, and there was enough trust between the two for Hinata to get away with it. Shino embraced her back.

"I'll keep you informed," she whispered into his ear.

"That's all I ask. Should you require anything…"

"I can come to you," she said, finishing the phrase each member of Team 8 knew by heart. Her boys had always looked out for her.

She retracted from the hug and gave Shino a grateful smile. Hefting Himawari up higher on her hip, Hinata nodded and turned to leave. She allowed her daughter's babble to keep her mind in check.

"Shiro left bugs in the bed, mama!"

"And, and Sara-nee-chan likes Teenage Ninja Turtle Summons, too!"

"Dinner was so yummy!"

And on and on and on. One thing after another. Hinata found herself latching onto the innocence pervading her daughter. It helped her smile.

"Mama, are you listening?"

Hinata's eyes widened. "Of course I am, sweetie. You were telling me all about the stories you read."

Himawari brightened. "Yeah! We read so many! My bum hurt at the end."

"Oh, that is a lot."

"Mmhm!"

The two continued into town, now bustling with more people as lunchtime began. Restaurants were filling up and businesses were busier than ever. Hinata ignored the looks she got from passing shinobi as she meandered her way through the market place, a list of things she needed already being checked off. She made a few pit stops to the grocers and the pharmacy before making her way into the shop further out from the main road.

A ring resounded through the store as the mother and daughter entered. No one else was there, though the front desk showed evidence of a recent purchase – a pen still situated with the cap off and a slightly mused stack of business cards laying across the wood. A few weapons were missing from their cases. Hinata walked past the aisles of equiptment to the desk and rang the bell.

_Thump_, _clang_,_ bang!_

Hinata's eyes widened as the sounds echoed from out of the back room and she tightened her grip on Himawari just slightly.

"Ow," she heard someone mutter, along with a few choice curse words. Hinata's eyebrow twitched, but was relieved to notice that Himawari didn't seem to have heard them.

"Be right there!"

Hinata nodded even though the person couldn't see and let her eyes wander. Weapons sat displayed in their cases, out of the reach of over-eager genin, and only a few of the larger ones rested on the walls. There were a few shelves and bins situated around the shop, all of them piled precariously with non-lethal shinobi equiptment. Pouches, bandages, wet stones, all arranged methodically on top of each other. A sign hung behind the counter advertising the various types of seals one could buy, as well as some of the services provided by the shop – sharpening, cleaning, miscellaneous weapon maintenance. Hinata almost snorted at the word. 'Miscellaneous' was really just a term used to give the owner free reign with someone else's equiptment.

"Tenten-oba-chan!"

Hinata looked up to see Tenten emerging from the back door. Her friend's hair was mused and loosening out of their braids, strands falling in wisps around her face, and her clothes were wrinkled as if she'd slept in them. A streak of coal dust ran across her cheek. Her friend stopped as soon as she saw them, concern and sympathy warring on her face, but she soon hid them under a bright smile.

"Hinata-chan, Hima-chan," she said, walking over to embrace the two.

Himawari giggled from her spot squished between the two women and playfully tried to push her honorary aunt away. "Oba-chan~!"

"What? Do you not like my hugs, anymore?" Tenten teased.

"I was smooshed!"

"Well, I guess I can let you slide," said Tenten. "Just this once."

"You say that every time," Himawari giggled, her little hands reaching up to cover her mirth.

"Well I mean it every time!" she replied, exchanging a grin with Hinata. Tenten straightened. "So what can I do for you?"

"I just need to stock up," Hinata said.

"Oh?" Tenten quirked an eyebrow. She gave her friend a critical once-over. "Which ones?" The brunette eventually asked. "Kunai, senbon, shuriken?"

"Senbon."

Tenten's eyes narrowed. "Anything else?"

"No, that's it."

"Right," she muttered, her stare heavy. "Just over here," she beckoned, walking to the case beside the checkout counter.

Tenten crouched down to pull out a drawer and flicked through a few boxes before she found the one she was looking for. The container was small, no larger than an incense box and made of generic grey cardboard. She checked the description on the side before handing it to Hinata.

"590 ryo."

Placing Himawari on the ground so she could grab her wallet, Hinata handed the money over. The exchange was brief, but just as Hinata made to pull away, Tenten's hand whipped out to wrap tightly around her wrist. Hinata flinched, but didn't back away.

Eyes flickering briefly to Himawari, Tenten pulled her friend in closer so that their noses were almost touching. Her breath tickled Hinata's face and the faint smell of vinegar wafted off the woman's clothes. She must have been cleaning something.

"Whatever you're planning, don't do it," Tenten hissed.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Hinata insisted, trying to take back her wrist without being too obvious about it.

Tenten rolled her eyes. "Don't lie to me, Hinata. We've been friends too long for that. We both know you don't use senbon for anything but retrieval missions."

"My family was threatened; I'm taking precautions. Nothing more."

"Hinata, please," Tenten urged, grip tightening and urgency coating her voice. "I know it's more than that. I've been looking at their weapons all night. Something's not right."

Hinata's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"

"Just-just something's off. There are seals on them I've never seen before. Please, just promise me you'll wait before you go off running half-assed."

"Mama?" Himawari asked from below.

"In a minute, honey," Hinata said, glancing down only briefly. She felt Tenten's grip loosen and she pulled her hand away. Leaning back in, she whispered, "Keep me informed."

"Hinata…"

The Uzumaki woman wished she could tell Tenten what she wanted to hear. Hinata understood. Tenten was her friend, had been her friend for years; she was just worried. But she couldn't do that – there were other things to think about. "I promise to wait."

"Why doesn't that make me feel better?" Tenten sagged, her face screwing up in apprehension.

Hinata weakly shrugged. "I won't do anything reckless."

"Your idea of reckless has changed over the years. I no longer trust it."

"But you do trust me."

Tenten sighed. "Against my better judgment right now, yes. Don't make me regret it."

Hinata reached out to squeeze her hand. She took reassurance from the warmth and callouses on Tenten's palm.

"Mama?" The sound of Himawari's high-pitched call brought her attention back to her daughter. She smiled down at the girl and picked her back up to set her on her hip.

"I'm sorry, honey. Mama and Tenten-oba-chan just had to discuss something, but we can go now. How about we go see great-grandmother?" She asked, hoping to distract the girl from asking questions.

Himawari gasped, her eyes going wide. "We're gonna go see grandmot'er?"

Hinata nodded. "Yes. Mama has to talk to them about something so you and grandmother get to have some fun."

"Watcha gotta talk 'bout?"

"Oh, just some very boring grown-up stuff," Hinata replied, not missing a beat. She saw Tenten move out of the corner of her eye so that the woman was no longer behind the table. "Now, let's say good-bye to Tenten. We don't want to keep grandmother waiting."

Himawari shook her little head and beamed up at the other woman who was now standing in front of the two, smiling as if she hadn't just agreed to let the Hokage's wife embark on a potentially fatal expedition.

"Come back and visit me soon, okay Hima-chan?"

"I will oba-chan! I'll come every day!"

"Every day? Well, now I'm really excited," she said. "Now come here and give me a hug."

Tenten embraced the girl, consequently embracing Hinata in the process. If she held on for just a little bit longer than usual or just that much tighter, neither women mentioned it.

"See you later?" Tenten asked, pulling away and giving Hinata a significant look.

"See you later," Hinata agreed – promised.

The mother-daughter duo walked out into the bright sunlight not a minute later, the pack of senbon burning hot against Hinata's thigh. She did her best to ignore the corrosive feeling, but her mind was a mess with Tenten's warning. What could be so strange about those weapons that it would put Tenten on edge? The older woman loved weapons; anything new or different was usually met with a round of gushing. But fear? No, Hinata had never seen Tenten afraid. Just who were these people they were now dealing with? She was starting to doubt Orochimaru's involvement, but at the same time couldn't think of another culprit. The man did have a history of abducting children.

She released a sigh and allowed Himawari's voice to sooth her. In that moment, Hinata was glad for her daughter's age. Any older and she wouldn't have been as easily assuaged. The babbling continued the entire way out of the market district, and into clan territory.

"Do you think grandmot'er will have a tea party with me?"

"I think she'd love that, Hima," Hinata replied as they rounded the last corner.

A sprawling fence was the first thing she saw, only the tallest peaks of the mansion's roof emerging from behind the high wood. Two guards stood on either side of the gate entrance and Hinata could feel more guards stationed at random intervals along the inner wall. Her own ANBU guards had settled around the mansion; their chakra flaring in a friendly pattern, letting the Hyuuga on duty know their intentions. Hinata felt both comforted and ill by the added security. At least she could be assured of her daughter's safety.

Both Hyuuga on gate guard bowed to her as she approached, their eyes boring into her's. Apprehension oozed off them and she watched their hands turn to fists as their Byakugan activated. So the clan wasn't as in the dark as she had assumed. Despite herself, Hinata felt pleased.

"Hinata-sama, Himawari-sama," the one on the right said.

"Iroha-san," she nodded to him, "Hoheto-san," she said to the other. Pulling herself up straighter, Hinata said, "I need to speak with the Council of Elders. Please inform them that they are to meet me in the Head office immediately."

"Of course, Hinata-sama," Iroha made a hand signal and immediately another guard hidden behind the wall shot off. "They will be waiting when you arrive, ma'am."

"Thank you."

The men both bowed and stepped aside, allowing the woman entrance.

Hinata took a deep breath to calm her nerves and walked inside.

* * *

If Naruto were a lesser man he would have slipped. Shaky hands reached up to brush aside blond spikes, as he leaned back against the sofa in exhaustion. His vision swam, his throat ached, and there was a constant pressure in the back of his eyes. The reports lay in a discarded pile beside him.

He had maybe five or so minutes left before Shikamaru arrived. His advisor's chakra niggled at his senses, like the ticking timer on a bomb. Shikamaru wasn't moving particularly fast, so Naruto assumed any news he had wasn't necessarily groundbreaking. A part of Naruto was relieved. The part of him that wanted to coat his arms in blood up to his elbows was not.

Naruto sighed and pushed the thought to the back of his mind, wringing his hands compulsively as if to wash the imaginary blood from them. They felt heavy already, though he was sure fatigue was mostly to blame. It wasn't that he'd lied to Hinata – not necessarily – he's just held back a bit. Just a tiny bit.

He truly had tried to sleep, but it was really very hard to close his eyes when every other sound was the whirling of a ventilator or the beeping of a heart machine. He'd spent most of the time he should have been sleeping counting each whistle. Between that and repeatedly scanning the area, sleep just never came. After an hour of tossing and turning he gave up.

The reports had still needed some attending to. At the very least, immersing himself in the facts and technicalities of the attack helped to drown out some of the surrounding noise. For a few hours, he was able to pretend everything was normal; the victim on the sheet wasn't his son and the beeping was just that new-fangled clock on his bedside he had yet to figure out. For the first time ever, Naruto honestly wanted to study.

It proved a much-needed emotional barrier.

But the barrier was beginning to crumble and Naruto knew it. Before, with the sun down and Hinata there, it was easy to pretend. Now – not so much. His eyes kept straying and he kept having to go back and reread the same sentence over and over again because he just couldn't concentrate. Team Nu's last correspondence repeated itself over and over again throughout his brain, like a never-ending mantra.

_Oblate. Randan. Calenture. Oblate. Randan. Calenture. Oblate. Randan. Calenture._

He knew they were already dead – Kiba's report had been very thorough – and, even though Hinata said differently, it didn't stop the fact that he was to blame. He should have sent out a more experienced team. Never mind the fact that the team was one of the more talented scout squads they had after his wife's. It didn't matter that Kiba had personally vouched for their competency not even a week ago. The fact remained that they were a new team and he should not have let them go.

Naruto dug the base of his palms into his eyes.

Why the hell had he wanted this job again? When he'd declared his desire to be Hokage, this hadn't exactly been what he'd expected. Oh sure, the responsibility wasn't new, but the fact that each decision he made could lead to the death of shinobi on the battlefield, while he remained safe at home, was eye-opening. Intellectually, he'd known it; emotionally was another matter. Also, the niggling thought that perhaps he was to blame for Boruto's condition wasn't helping. He heaved another sign and felt his eyes involuntarily slide over to look at his son.

Maybe he was still too young, he thought as he observed the boy. He was only twenty-seven after all. That wasn't that old. And it wasn't like he'd been Hokage very long yet; there was still time to give the hat back to Kakashi. They could just leave his head up on the monument until he was ready to take the mantle up again. Say, when he was thirty. It would give him time to be a better father, give his son time to adjust. And if he weren't Hokage he could just spend all his time in here, without having to worry about the logistics and the politics and the consequences of his title.

A knock at the door interrupted his musings and Naruto immediately stiffened. He stood up from his position on the couch and attempted to straighten out his clothes.

"Enter," he called out, once he felt more presentable.

The door opened and ANBU Tori stuck his head inside. "Hokage-sama, Nara-sama is here for you."

"Let him in." And then Shikamaru was walking through the door to stand at attention before him. They waited for the door to close before actually speaking, the privacy seals taking effect as soon as the lock clicked. Shikamaru immediately slouched and Naruto fell back onto the couch.

"Shikamaru."

"Hokage-sama," the man responded. His eyes flickered to the boy on the hospital bed, and then back to the Hokage as if asking if he really wanted to have this meeting here. Naruto met his eyes steadily.

That was a 'yes' then.

Shikamaru took a deep breath. "The retrieval team is still a few hours out and Yagi's seals have been destroyed. Ino's trying to wade through all the useless information, but it's slow going. She's turned the department upside-down. Sai and Tenten are still going over evidence. Tenten thinks there's something off about the seals on the weapons, so we're keeping a close eye on that."

"Off how?" Naruto asked, this being the first time he'd heard about it.

"She's not sure," Shikamaru replied. "Said there were seals on them she'd never seen before. And a seal on a weapon Tenten's never seen…"

"Does not bode well for us," Naruto finished with a sigh. He rubbed at his forehead. "I'll take a look at them, see if there's anything I recognize." Shikamaru nodded, and wrote it down in the notebook he'd brought out. Hopefully, Naruto could spot something – the man had worked his ass off the last few years to become a master in the art – because if neither he nor Tenten could recognize the seals, then Shikamaru didn't know who would.

"Here's Sai's write-up of the tools they recovered," he said, handing over the paper. "They're still going through them, but so far nothing of interest has shown up."

Naruto nodded, skimming the report. "How are the firewalls?"

"Holding. The Aburame have reported no breaches and they've been watching very closely."

"Good. I want this list, as well as all the other information we currently have, computerized. This is too much paper lying around."

Shikamaru grunted and eyed Naruto closely. "And all that information in one place is just asking for a breach."

Naruto smirked. "Exactly."

"I want to pretend you didn't say that," Shikamaru grumbled, pinching his nose in frustration.

"It could work, though."

Shikamaru sighed. "If we're _lucky_. Following the signal back to the source isn't foolproof. This technology is still too new."

"I would love to hear your ideas. Besides, this way we have less people relaying sensitive material back-and-forth. We don't need everyone and their mother talking about this."

"Tch. Everyone and their mother is already talking about this. There's not a shinobi in the village that doesn't know something happened, and the civilians are gossiping so badly _Ino's_ telling them to stop," the Nara stated. "For all we know, we could end up handing all we know over to these people. We could be giving them vital information that we need to protect."

"Then reel them in," Naruto growled, and Shikamaru pulled back, alarmed. "I don't care what we have to do, I want these people found. If we have to send out bait, so be it. Separate the important from the mundane; I don't care how it gets done, only that it does, eventually, get done. Am I clear, Shikamaru?"

Shikamaru stared at him for a minute, his Adam's apple bobbing visibly. A minute of tense silence went by before Shikamaru nodded tersely. "Clear, Hokage-sama."

"Good," he said, eyes flickering to Boruto and then back to his advisor. "Now, what are we doing about the Council?"

"Depends on which council," Shikamaru replied, using one of his shadows to drag over a chair for him to sit on. Naruto didn't bat an eyelash as he pulled up a table between them, too. He placed his notebook and a few folders down on the plain wood before continuing. "The Shinobi Council is obviously going to be the easiest, not even considering most of the members are already up to date on the most important information. Temari and Karui have already sent out missives to Gaara and Darui, though they've given nothing beyond the basics. At present, I think it's best to inform the Kage of a Priority Two. With the Kazekage and Raikage being informed, it would be a slight to the Mizukage and Tsuchikage not to do the same. Besides that, we need their eyes. Perhaps they have information we lack. We will, of course, keep all classified information sealed, unless it proves necessary to reveal. Only that an attempt was made on Boruto by suspected Oto shinobi will be relayed."

Naruto flinched imperceptibly at that last part, but otherwise remained stoic. Priority Two, in relation to the Kage, was a relatively new procedure implemented after the war. In an effort to maintain the still tenuous peace, all suspicious activity targeted at a village was to be reported to the Union. Allied shinobi would be placed on standby to offer aid or information, while their respective villages would then be prepared to put on the defensive should they too come under attack. It was a very symbiotic relationship, and one Naruto had never thought he would have to enact, particularly not this soon.

"The Civilian Council?" He asked, finding his voice.

Shikamaru sighed. "A more delicate matter. The Builders' Guild is going to need an explanation for the damages, and we need to tell the merchants something that will keep them trading. At this rate, our trade is going to plummet because people are afraid to leave their houses. On top of that, Ambassador Takehani is demanding an explanation for the daimyou."

"This isn't going through the ambassador," Naruto stated.

"My thoughts exactly," his advisor agreed. "I took the liberty of contacting the daimyou an hour ago. He said he'd be happy to talk at your convenience."

The Hokage ran a tired hand down the side of his face. "Thanks, Shika."

"Heh, don't thank me just yet. We still have to deal with the civilians here. They're not exactly in a panic, but they're on edge. Closing the Academy for "administrative matters" is only believable for so long. The civilians are _scared_, Naruto, and they don't know why. We need something to tell the council so they can relay it back to the civilians. If we don't give them something soon, we might even have a riot on our hands."

"We can't tell them the truth," Naruto muttered, glancing at Boruto again.

"We can't lie either," Shikamaru pointed out. "They heard the explosions, and Boruto's absence from class was noted by his classmates. Those children went home and told their parents. Right now, there are rumors that he's dead," he stated, stubbornly ignoring Naruto's violent jerk. "And if this is the prelude to a larger attack, we can't lie and put them in danger."

"There won't be a larger attack. We'll get them before that happens," Naruto glared, but Shikamaru didn't back down this time.

"We can't know that, Naruto." He watched his old friend slump against the couch.

There was silence for a minute and then, "Only the barest information. Do you hear me, Shikamaru? Only the barest information is to get out. I don't want reports on my desk about imagined sights of enemy shinobi in every civilian's bedroom." He covered his face with his hands and expunged a great gush of air. "All they need to know is that an attempt was made to kidnap Boruto. He is recovering in the hospital and measures are being taken to identify his attackers. Everything beyond that is classified."

"Might want to add 'our information is promising'," Shikamaru groused. "Otherwise we'll still get reports about enemy shinobi in every civilian's bedroom."

Naruto raised an eyebrow. "What happened to not lying?"

"It's omitting."

The Hokage snorted, and shook his head. He jotted the information down on one of the forms Shikamaru's brought. "So we have an explanation for the civilians. And we can reassure the merchants it's an isolated incident. Have ANBU Teams Mu-B and Delta-G do a sweep of the major trading routes. Confirmation that the roads are safe should keep the traders content."

"And if they're not satisfied, we can always offer our services to those hesitant to travel."

"Push for it, actually, but don't offer any discounts. I don't want to have to go back to the daimyou asking for more money. If we can get the funds for the builders without having to rework the budget or go to Nagahito, all the better."

"We'll have to limit it to C-ranks, then. We need the jounin and specialist here, and we can't afford to take our eyes off the borders. If anything, this proves we need to increase the patrols."

"We're already going to be stretched thin as it is," Naruto sagged, flipping through the top folder containing the names of shinobi currently on active duty. "Combined with everyone already at the borders and on defense, we're only going to have a hundred or so shinobi left. Knowing the merchants, it won't be enough."

"Mixing in the genin will increase numbers. If we have them complete joint missions, it will double the available shinobi and increase safety. Also, get those green-eyed kids some experience."

"The genin have been getting restless."

"I think you mean rusty. The last chuunin exams were embarrassing."

Naruto's lips twitched upwards. "How would you know? You slept through them."

"So did you," Shikamaru countered, and Naruto just grinned unapologetically. The Nara shook his head. "Though, this does raise the point of what we're going to tell the general forces. The Council and Heads are one thing, but we don't want every genin and chuunin walking around telling the public sensitive information."

"You think we should tell them the same thing we're telling the civilians?"

Shikamaru nodded. "I think it's the only safe bet. Though we can put them on alert for any suspicious activity, specifically from Oto shinobi."

"Easy enough," the blond man agreed. "And I want all ANBU teams currently in the village on rotation. Have them concentrated around the Academy and Clan districts."

"I already have them on stand-by."

"Good. And I want multiple teams rotating around Boruto and Himawari."

"Teams Kappa-A and Eta have been on duty at the hospital. Himawari's team consisted of Rho Squad and a conglomeration of volunteering Aburame."

Naruto's head bobbed in thought and he stroked his chin. "Keep Kappa-A and Eta. They're both capable. Rho may be better stationed near the city. Is Sigma Squad available?"

Shikamaru ran his finger down the list, stopping once he hit the name. "Sigma just returned from patrol last week with no injuries. They should be good to go."

"Great. Place them on rotation. Have Sigma relieve Eta; they've been here all night, and move Kappa-A over to Himawari. Hinata's team can stay."

His advisor jolted down the changes and closed the file. With steady fingers, he removed the last folder from the pile and placed it between them, opening the beige flap. Pulling out two identical stacks and a redacting pen, Shikamaru leaned in closer. He handed one group over to Naruto and kept the other.

"Kiba's report," Shikamaru uttered, plucking out the five-page transcript from the pile. "I placed another copy in here for you, but-"

"Burn it."

"What?" Shikamaru's eyes widened.

"Burn it," the Hokage's gaze was piercing. "Tell Kiba to destroy his copy. Redact everything except dates, team formation, and time of death. We'll go over it again once the recovery team makes their report. Restrict autopsy to Tsunade, Sakura, and Ino. I'll keep the completed report in the vaults." He held up the much thicker document he'd received directly from Kiba earlier.

Shikamaru sat speechless for a moment, just staring at his leader. Eventually, he nodded. "Sir." He tentatively reached for the copy he'd brought and, with a small katon jutsu, set the pages aflame. Within seconds, all that remained was a small pile of ash.

Naruto nodded, and scrutinized his copy of the remaining papers. "Yagi's seals were destroyed, but we know they made it to the rendezvous point. These people knew exactly where they'd be."

"A spy, perhaps?"

"Perhaps," the blond muttered. "Or they were followed."

"Should I have yesterday's teams sent to interrogation? As a precaution."

The Hokage shook his head. "No, not yet. But have Ino and her team look through all their files. Sai too. If anything flags, send them to me."

"Understood," Shikamaru said, taking note in the margins of his paper. He looked closer at each member's file. He took in their names, their skills, their times of death, and paused. "They were taken out within three minutes," he muttered, heavily. "Who takes out a five-man ANBU team in three minutes?"

Naruto met his gaze, his blue eyes sharp and piercing. Shikamaru felt lead settle in his stomach.

"I don't know."

* * *

Sakura rubbed at her eyes to try and wipe away the fatigue. Her butt hurt from hours sitting in a chair and she could feel a headache coming on. The stale air of her office made it hard to breathe, to the point where she'd had to loosen the collar of her shirt so she didn't suffocate. Were she not dealing with such confidential material, she would have opened the window.

All that sensitive information was spread out in an organized mess across her desk and the privacy seals were on full power. Colorful charts, lists of percentages, and diagrams were all set up along the lacquered wood, blurring and meshing before Sakura's tired eyes. She had to blink numerous times so as not to mix them up. Sarada had kept her up most of the night – not that she minded – and it was showing in her ability to concentrate. Luckily, Sarada was with the Akimichi today and Sakura could rest easy knowing she was safe.

Rubbing her head again, she glanced down once more at Boruto's chart. His blood work had returned from the lab not an hour ago, and what it showed troubled her. None of the information was unexpected, but neither was it desired. His immune response, compared to his natural accelerated rate, was greatly diminished. Seeing as they had him on midazolam in order to prevent seizures, it wasn't particularly surprising, however that did nothing to alleviate Sakura's worries. If his immune response remained sluggish, it would inhibit his ability to heal and would leave him susceptible to diseases he could not afford to contract. They were walking a very thin line between the depressants and aiding his immune levels, and it made Sakura want to tear her hair out.

She looked at his the chart showing his thorax. The over-pressurized wave from the explosion had resulted in blast lung, and they were monitoring it as closely as they were the head injury. He had hemorrhaged while in surgery, something they felt better to keep from Naruto and Hinata for the time being, though their biggest fear at the time was an embolism. Luckily, they seemed to have dodged that kunai. What they hadn't dodged was the pressure from the blast impacting his chakra coils. A few of his tenketsu had been ruptured, and while they'd been able to repair them, one of Sakura's biggest fears was a leak. It could lead to chakra poisoning, where the chakra escapes from the coils and burns away at the internal organs.

The list, however, did not end there. Boruto's eyes had suffered from hyphema, or blood in the front chamber of the eye. They had managed to reverse most of the effects, but were waiting for more confirmation on their success. Hypotension was another serious worry. The massive blood loss Boruto had endured was slowly being repaired, but the shock and the use of depressants wasn't helping, and they'd set him up with a sodium chloride injection to help combat it. This, of course, didn't even brush the surface of the other numerous injuries caused by the kidnapping and subsequent rescue, including the burns, broken extremities, and abrasions.

It was all very very messy, and very very delicate, and Sakura was feeling wholly inadequate to the task. She was tempted to call in a Hyuuga to help monitor his tenketsu, but for all their sight, the clan had produced very few medics, especially on the level necessary to identify and treat any problems that might arise. The only one she could think of was Hinata, but for obvious reasons wasn't too keen on bringing her in unless it was unavoidable.

She gazed at the medical file sitting open before her computer. It was one of the few files in the hospital that had yet to be computerized, as were most of the other confidential files. Paranoia about the new technology was hard to push past, and many of the older doctors were adamant that paper records were safer than digitized ones. Some part of Sakura agreed; other parts did not. At this moment, she was attempting to create a digital file for Boruto out of his old one, including the new information and comparing it to his past history. The process was slow going – pages having been mixed up and placed out of order, and it didn't help that her brain was trying to process a hundred different solutions to the current crisis as she did so.

"Vaccines, vaccines," she muttered under her breath. "Hib at two months, PCV at three months, MR at twelve months…" and on the list went, until she got to the next page.

Sakura's eyes squinted to read the tiny print. It was a detailed report of his newborn screening, no different from any other, with the exception of the confidential stamp posted at the top, and the green 'POSITIVE' next to the bloodline markers. Sakura could still remember getting that blood test back and being floored that Boruto had been positive for the Byakugan. His eyes were blue and pupiled, and showed no distinct sign of his mother's doujutsu. She'd even ordered the test be redone three times before she accepted it. The only real anomaly in the blood work had been an unknown marker that didn't show in either Naruto or Hinata. They still didn't have the technology necessary to interpret the gene, though Sakura could feel them getting closer.

There was a nostalgia that came with seeing this paper, along with a melancholy attached to the boy's current predicament. Sakura forced her eyes to read each and every word as she typed them into the computer. Occasionally, a finger would lift from the keyboard to brush along the paper, feeling the raised ink under her fingers. Sunlight touched at her back through the open window, and it gave her a sense of comfort she didn't think she needed. Sakura continued to type out the information, rolling slightly on her chair to keep her awake. She closed her eyes just momentarily, lifting her hand once more to touch the paper. The sun was warm on her hand.

It didn't last long. Within seconds she pried her eyes open and removed her hand to resume typing. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the sun hit the paper and her fingers stopped cold. Slowly, so slowly it was almost imperceptible, she tilted her head so as to view the paper in the sunlight.

A cold weight settled in her stomach and she felt the blood drain from her face. Her vision tunneled as her heart rate picked up, and dizziness swept over her. She suddenly felt sick.

"Oh gods."

* * *

**And that's that! Sorry to leave you there, but now we're heading into the meat of the story, so sorry. I hope you all enjoyed! Please leave a review, but don't flame. I appreciate constructive criticism and questions, but flames don't help writers improve their work. **

**Have a wonderful day/night!**

**~AlabasterInk**


	4. I Wouldn't Raze A Country to Its Knees

**So…it's been a while…I'm so sorry about that. It's been a…strange/bad/hectic/life-changing few months, and for a while I couldn't even look at this story. But everything has been worked through and I would like to thank each and every one of you for your kind words and patience. Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and even just read and enjoyed. You make all the frustration worth it, so thank you. **

**This is unbeta-ed, so please be kind about any spelling or grammar mistakes.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and any OC that makes an appearance. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**What I Wouldn't Do**

**Chapter 4: I Wouldn't Raze a Country to Its Knees**

"Uchiha-san."

"Gamadoro."

"A message from Naruto-sama. He says it's urgent."

Sasuke grunted. "Considering the time, I would assume so." He didn't move his gaze from the decrepit steel doors in front of him and just held out his hand for the note. As squelching sound pierce the otherwise silent air as Gamadoro opened his mouth to deposit the message, and soon the wet feeling of toad saliva filled Sasuke's hand. He made a mental note to clean his gloves but otherwise didn't acknowledge how disgusted he was.

The message was short, much shorter than the previous one, but it still sent at rush of foreboding through his body.

_ANBU dead. Sector 48-H. HZ12-S10-91-Psi._

He didn't dwell on the first part for long. It was no use thinking about dead shinobi though it did raise some unsettling questions. Sector 48-H was where he was supposed to rendezvous with the team. That was far too specific a spot for an enemy to just get lucky. Sasuke would bet money on a spy. The numbers at the end, however – the Uchiha didn't know what to make of them. They weren't a part of any code he knew, nor did they appear to be coordinates. His brow crinkled in thought.

"Uchiha-san."

"Hmm?" Sasuke broke out of his musings and let his eyes rove around to finally look at the toad. "You're still here?"

Gamadoro puffed up in displeasure, but was far too used to the Uchiha's attitude to comment. Instead, he simply leveled Sasuke with a steady eye and said, "I was not finished, Uchiha-san. Naruto-sama has another message for you."

"Oh?" Now he was curious.

Rather than answer, Gamadoro simply extended his tongue once again and deposited a tiny black box no larger than a thumb into Sasuke's palm. The shinobi gave the strange item a questioning once over before looking back at Gamadoro for an explanation.

"What is this?"

"According to Naruto-sama, it is an encrypted long-range communicator."

"A what?"

"An encrypted long-range communicator. It is the newest device out of the Tech Division. Naruto-sama is worried about the delay in correspondence and wishes for you to use this in order to relay your information."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow, flipping the thing over in his hand. "And how am I supposed to use it?"

"It is keyed to a specific frequency and is encoded. Naruto-sama has given you your encryption key."

"Ah." The numbers. That made sense. "Can this be traced?" He then asked, because otherwise he would stick to summons.

"Unlikely."

"'Unlikely' is not the same as 'no'."

"And my ability to find you quick enough in the event of an emergency is just as limited. 'Unlikely' is the best you're going to get."

"Hmph," Sasuke's lips twitch in a semblance of a grin. "Tell Naruto I've received his message."

"Of course," the toad bowed his head in acknowledgment. "If that is all, I will return to Konoha."

Sasuke nodded and the summon disappeared in a quiet puff of smoke. The Uchiha stared at the spot for a moment as he allowed the scroll to catch fire and disintegrate, before turning his gaze back to the little black communicator. It was hard to believe this thing could actually allow him to reach someone in Konoha, but he'd trust Naruto on this. He exhaled deeply and pocketed the device. No use losing it.

He turned back to the dented doors before him and reached out his hand to open them. The damaged metal moved with little effort. Light flooded into the entranceway, showing the dark corridor of one of Otogakure's hidden labs. The concrete was now overgrown with weeds and rot, and a pungent odor pilfered through the air. It seemed to be a combined scent of musk and bodily fluids, and though he couldn't be sure, he would bet money that the puddles didn't singularly consist of water.

His Sharingan flickered to life as Sasuke began a cautious walk deeper into the depths. It was one of the smaller compounds, situated closer to the border of Yama no Kuni and used almost exclusively as a way house for traveling Sound shinobi. Sasuke had only been here twice before, each time briefly. It had been one of those places Orochimaru had deemed unnecessary for his training and had, as such, steered him clear of. As a teen, Sasuke hadn't put much thought into it, but he was older now, and much wiser to the machinations of his teacher. Orochimaru didn't build way houses – he didn't care for his shinobi enough – but he did build labs, and he was particularly skilled at hiding them beneath a façade of innocence.

The halls he was walking down now were the obvious ones. These were the ones he had seen as an immature child. He knew that to turn left near the end would lead him towards the bunks, while turning right would bring him into a lounge. If he instead chose to keep moving forward, he would end up in a small kitchen not even large enough to fit a full genin team. The size was understandable if taken at face value, but Sasuke wasn't interested in the obvious.

The obvious would be all the laboratories and compounds he'd searched over the years. It would be the sprawling underground village in the center of Oto no Kuni. It would not be the half-forgotten hut on the edge of the country. Now, he was no expert on seals – that was a line of study he'd never had much interest in – but he was an expert on chakra. It flowed through everything and seals required it in order to continue functioning. If Orochimaru were hiding something here, no doubt he would be using seals to do it.

Sasuke ignored the flickering pulses of chakra as it moved through the weeds and vines growing around him and instead focused his eyes on the floor. As far as he could see it was just normal stone, albeit very wet and covered in animal feces. Still, he continued on, his suspicions growing with each step. The compound was too small to be worth its purpose.

He turned left into the bunks but found nothing out of the ordinary besides the dust and broken beds. The lounge was likewise the same. Perhaps a few books were sprawled out as if the reader still planned to return, but on the whole, nothing looked out of place. His frustration building, Sasuke moved onwards into the kitchen and stopped.

Dirt and dust filled the room in an even coat of grime, and there was a plate left over in the sink still covered with grease. Sasuke internally flinched at the thought of opening the fridge, its contents no doubt rotten and decayed. He moved his head around the room slowly, both doujutsu active as the hair on the back of his neck prickled. Something didn't add up. The room looked untouched, but clouds of chakra sat heavily in the air.

It was almost enough for him to wish for a Hyuuga or an Aburame, but, of course, they were all either a country away or dead at the border, so it was of no use wishing. Reflexively, Sasuke's fingers curled around the little black box Gamadoro had given him.

His eyes scanned the kitchen again, centering on the floors and walls, but the room was so saturated in chakra it was hard for him to focus. Blinking did nothing to stop the irritation. Well if his sight wouldn't suffice, perhaps smell would.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!"

A puff of smoke and a small snake appeared before him, her body swaying coyly and her green eyes gleeful.

"Sssasssuke-sssama, you called?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes at her obvious eagerness and pointed to the floor. "I need you to find a hidden entrance. Search for the smell of decay."

"Ohhh, fantassstic," she sang. Her forked tongue began to quiver as she gathered odor particles in the air and she slithered around the room. A quick circle around the space lead her straight to the fridge where she stopped and twitched.

"Decay is everywhere, Sssasssuke-sssama, but the most is here."

"Yes, well I assume the idiots left the food to rot. I meant human decay."

"Yesss, Sssasssuke-sssama. Human rot isss here."

Sasuke started. "What?"

"Human rot. I sssmell it."

Of course. "Thank you, Naga. You're dismissed."

"And my fee?"

Sasuke sighed. "What do you want?"

"The job wasss easssy. A sssingle drop of your blood will sssufficcce."

The Uchiha didn't even bother with a response; he just bit his thumb and allowed a drop to settle onto the snake's waiting tongue.

"Mmm, deliccciousss," she said, shivering with pleasure. "Until nexxxt time, Sssasssuke-sssama."

Naga disappeared in the same manner she appeared leaving Sasuke alone once more. He made quick strides over to the disgusting appliance and focused both his doujutsu on it. The thing smelled even worse up close and it was completely laced with a dark cloud of chakra. The mass was so dense, Sasuke almost missed it, but no, there it was: a tiny seal on the handle. It appeared to be a blood seal if Sasuke's experience with said seals was anything to go by, but it was so interlaced with separate strands of chakra that they encompased the entire area and caused it to look like a cloud.

"Damn." He supposed blunt force would do the trick, but undoubtedly Orochimaru would have placed any number of traps against it. That left the only other option – tricking the seal.

Sasuke slouched somewhat and sighed.

"This is going to take a while."

* * *

"Hinata-sama."

The collective, monotone choir of her name always put Hinata on edge. It had gotten better as she got older, but seeing the large group of esteemed Hyuuga elders bowing low before her still sent her stomach rolling. The high, white walls of the Hyuuga Council Chamber did little to settle her nerves, and it was only years of practice that kept her mask of serenity in check.

"Honored Elders," she began, bowing her own head in acknowledgment, "I must thank you for taking the time to meet with me on such short notice."

"We are at your disposal, Hinata-sama," her grandaunt, Hyuuga Hiyori, said. "Though we must say we are wary about where this is leading."

"Yes," another elder, Hoshin, stated. "Boruto-sama's nafuda has faded and Hyuuga Shinjin's name has disappeared entirely. We do not believe such things are a coincidence."

_Shinjin_. He must have been on Team Nu. She would have to pay her respects to his parents. Hinata took a deep breath and filed away this new knowledge. "You are correct, Elder, such things are not a coincidence. I am here to inform you of recent events that will undoubtedly affect our family for some time. I ask that you please allow me to speak before asking any questions."

"Of course, Hinata-dono. So long as you agree to answer our questions to your utmost ability," Hyuuga Higashi intoned.

Hinata inclined her head. "You have my word, grandfather."

"Then you may proceed without fear of interruption from us."

"Thank you." She took a moment to steel herself and began. "Yesterday morning, around seven-hundred hours, my husband and I were alerted to an urgent matter by Aburame Shino. Our son had not made it to class and was nowhere to be found. Scout teams were sent out and Boruto was found around nine-hundred hours. It is believed…."

* * *

"….that this attempted kidnapping of the Hokage's son was devised by enemy shinobi not affiliated with the Union," Shikamaru's voice echoed throughout the chambers as the heads of the various civilian guilds listened on in growing horror.

"Uzumaki Boruto was found twelve kilometers from the north gate within Sector 3-N. I'm sure most of you saw the explosion. At this time…"

* * *

"….there are multiple theories as to why Boruto was targeted and why the bomb was set off. Boruto is currently safe and stable under the care of Senju Tsunade and Uchiha Sakura. It does not appear as if anyone else is being targeted. I would now like to request that the esteemed Hyuuga council…"

* * *

"…the esteemed Civilian council…"

* * *

"…act in a manner that may benefit Konoha during this trying time. Let it be known that a skilled ANBU team was dispatched to track and identify the attackers…"

* * *

"…and made it to the rendezvous point without delay…"

* * *

"…sadly, the team, of which Hyuuga Shinjin was a member, was killed, but not before relaying vital information paramount to this investigation…"

* * *

"…thankfully, the team, consisting of talented shinobi, relayed vital information paramount to this investigation…"

* * *

"…Our knowledge at this time is little…"

* * *

"…Our knowledge at this time is promising…"

* * *

"…but we ask for patience as we work to keep Konoha safe. At this time, please ask your questions in a manner becoming of your station. Thank you."

* * *

In the council chambers of the Hokage tower, Shikamaru internally cringed as the yelling began. All around him, the civilians were shouting their questions over each other, trying to be the first to be heard.

The shinobi stifled a groan and, with great effort, lifted his finger to point at the Head of the Commerce Guild.

"Nara-sama, are there any clues as to…"

* * *

"…who could have done such a thing?" Hiyori asked, her voice strained and her countenance obviously rattled.

Around her, the other elders looked just as stunned by this new information. They'd known something bad had happened – the whole clan had known – the minute Boruto's name had faded to an almost imperceptible outline on his nafuda. The names, written in blood and sealed with chakra on the day of a child's birth, were keyed into each family member's life force. Upon death, the name would vanish, leaving behind a blank plank of wood as a notice to the family. They would be sure to keep careful watch over Boruto's nafuda and bury Shinjin's with all ceremony due to one who had given his life in service to his village.

But while Shinjin's death was unfortunate, Boruto's situation was a different matter. Shinjin was a trained shinobi. He was a member of ANBU and had died in the line of duty, knowing full well it was a possibility. Boruto was an Academy student and still considered a civilian. At seven-years-old, the child would not have been able to defend himself against numerous assailants. As shinobi, the Hyuuga did not adhere to a code of honor; as a Clan, the Hyuuga's code of honor demanded one thing: blood.

An attack on a civilian child was horrific. An attack on a civilian child of the Clan was abominable. And an attack on a civilian child of the Head of the Clan was unforgivable.

Hinata could feel the bloodlust rising throughout the room, and had to struggle to keep her own in check. She could not allow the clan to act when such little information was available.

"Currently, we have no concrete idea of who was behind this attack, however we are looking at possible leads-"

"And what are these 'possible leads?'" Exclaimed Hyuuga Korai, the oldest member on the council.

"I cannot-"

"Yes, Hinata-sama. Surely there must be some idea as to who has orchestrated this," Hoshin interjected.

"Well, yes, but-"

"Then who? They have attacked an honored member of this clan and must pay for their crimes."

"And they will," Hinata stated, her voice echoing throughout the chambers as her patience thinned and her irritation at the interruptions got the better of her. She sat up straighter and stared down at the elders before her. "The people responsible for this attack on _my son_ will be brought to justice. However, we currently do not have definitive proof against any one group. It would be greatly dishonorable to destroy an innocent party and I will not see our clan stoop so low, nor will I allow us to slander Hyuuga Shinjin's sacrifice.

"We will get our blood, but it will be the blood of the guilty. Am I understood?"

There were some grumblings of discontent, but, as if by collective conscious, the elders nodded and bowed as one.

"We understand, Hinata-sama."

"Good. Other questions?"

* * *

"How will this affect trade?"

Shikamaru struggled not to let his annoyance show. The civilians could stand to care a little more about the life of a child rather than monetary gain, but as the question was a valid one, he managed to keep a stern face. Money did make the world go 'round after all and the village's economy was particularly important.

"We don't expect there to be any negative effects on Konoha's trade. Still, our Hokage has seen fit to ensure your safety and has dispatched two decorated ANBU teams to comb the trading routes for possible dangers. The Hokage understands how important all of your hard work is and wishes to make sure your efforts are not in vain. He has asked me to assure you that your safety is top priority."

Okay, so that was laying it on a little thick, but Naruto couldn't be seen as anything other than a strong leader right now, and Shikamaru would be damned if anyone started questioning the blond. Naruto had enough to worry about without adding pretentious civilians to the mix.

"And if these enemy shinobi are just biding their time?" asked the Head of the Banking Clans. "What are we to do if they return?"

"Hokage-sama has already taken this into account. Any merchant hesitant to travel need not worry. Konoha's military is strong and our numbers have only increased. For the price of a C-rank mission, merchants may employ the services of Konoha shinobi teams at double the numbers."

"Double the numbers?" A woman – Shikamaru recalled her as the Head of the Textiles Guild, Sanroku Hanamori – inquired. "Does that mean we shall get twice the number of shinobi for the price of a simple C-rank?"

"It does, ma'am. Hokage-sama will do everything to keep the members of this village safe." Though, Shikamaru left out the part that these doubled numbers really only equated to another team of genin. As genin generally received a lower pay cut than their chuunin or jounin leaders, doubling the number of genin equated to the same price as a standard chuunin squad. In layman's terms, the civilians weren't getting more for less, they just equaled out the pay into a regular C-rank. Perhaps it was a little underhanded, but it got the job done, and the Hokage's job was to run the village in the most efficient way possible, not pander to egos. Shikamaru just helped move the process along.

"And where is Hokage-sama?" Cried the Head of the Merchant's Division. "Why is he not here?"

At this, Shikamaru couldn't keep the frown off his face, but he was surprised when Hanamori beat him to a response.

"Well, he's obviously with his son," she stated, as if it was the most apparent thing in the world. The Nara decided he rather liked her.

"His son isn't going anywhere." The Division Head, Unrako Fuyen, spat back. "He should be trying to catch these bastards and ensure the village is secure."

"He is," Shikamaru replied, icily. He allowed the slightest bit of killing intent to ooze off him and directed it in Fuyen's direction. The man paled. "Hokage-sama has already had multiple meetings with myself, the ANBU, the Interrogation Department, and Village Security. He is doing everything he possibly can. Without his quick action, you can bet there would have been another attack, and who knows who would have been the target." Alright, so that was probably a lie, but he dared anyone to contradict him. "And while he is doing this, his son lies in a hospital bed, injured to the point of unconsciousness. So I dare you to say he is not doing everything he can to ensure this village's security."

Shikamaru allowed his eyes to rake across the room, making anyone who thought otherwise bow their heads in submission. Others, like Hanamori and the Head of the Commerce Guild, looked satisfied to the point of smugness.

"And this, Unrako-san, is why your wife won't give you children," Hanamori said, grinning wickedly.

Yes, Shikamaru decided, he definitely liked her.

* * *

"Hinata-chan," the sternly soft voice of her grandfather stopped Hinata in her tracks. The meeting had been more draining than she'd thought it would be and all she wanted now was to gather her daughter in her arms and go home, possibly even sleep for the remainder of the week. Instead, the commanding tones of her grandfather's voice forced her to pause in her endeavor and face him. She'd never been able to say 'no' to him as a child, and that hadn't changed as an adult. Hyuuga Higashi was just that type of person.

"Yes, grandfather?" She asked, keeping her tone polite and reverential.

"There's no need for such distance, Hinata-chan," he said, and Hinata bowed her head in embarrassment. "Keep your head high, granddaughter. This is not an inquiry."

"Grandfather?"

"Walk with me." He gestured towards the gardens with his cane and the two began to move, matching step for graceful step. Hinata, raised under the knowledge that the elderly man was above her, waited for him to speak.

"You need not be so meek, Hinata-chan. You are the wife of the Hokage and a leader of our clan. I know you are strong. Now I ask you to do me a courtesy and don't lie. You know who is behind this."

"We have an idea," she replied, warily. "But nothing definitive."

"So you said in the council chambers. I am not a fool. You were deliberately not saying anything. I want to know why."

"Grandfather…"

He held up his hand, stopping whatever she was going to say cold. "I asked you not to lie. You were never very good at it. Misdirection, however, I admit you have a talent for. Quite like that husband of yours." His lips twitched in what might have been the beginnings of a grin before they fell back into their normal line. "But this is off the record. I will not speak of it unless you ask me too, of that you have my word as a Hyuuga."

To give his word under the family name…Hinata considered it. She weighed the decision in her mind. It was unfortunate that she didn't know what Naruto and Shikamaru had decided should be common knowledge, and right now she was going off what she felt was right for the clan to know. But Higashi had given his oath as Hyuuga to keep silent. If he broke such an promise…

"The shinobi were found to be heading north, in the direction of Oto no Kuni."

"Orochimaru."

Hinata nodded. "That is our working theory."

"Hmm," Higashi's brow crinkled in thought, making his already aged face look even older. "Orochimaru has always been power hungry and I have no doubt that has changed. That he has targeted Boruto-chan instead of the Uchiha girl-"

"Sarada-chan."

"-does not bode well for the clan. If what you say is true, then I have no doubt Orochimaru is involved in some capacity. It is just of matter of how far his involvement goes."

Hinata swallowed harshly at the words and slumped almost imperceptibly as her fears were backed. "I know."

"Good. The clan will be on alert." He heaved a sigh and looked at her briefly with an unreadable expression before looking back out onto the grounds. "Now, tell me, what else is on your mind?"

"A-ah, well, there is much, grandfather," she said, cursing herself for the stutter. She was not that little girl anymore.

"Understandable, but not what I asked." He turned pearly eyes to look at her and the blatant sympathy she saw both shocked and touched her. "We have spoken of our enemy, but now I speak of you. So, I ask again, what is on your mind?"

Her lip trembled. "My son." He voice caught on the word, but Higashi ignored it. "My daughter. My husband. My clan. My friends. My village. What am I supposed to do, grandfather?"

"You want my advice?"

"Yes. I want someone to tell me I'm doing this right."

"Well," he paused, staring at the sky. "I can't tell you that, Hinata-chan, but I can tell you that you are doing everything you can, and that will have to be enough."

"But I can do more. I _should_ do more."

"Then do it, but don't forget why you're doing it in the first place," and he pointed his cane over towards the koi pond where Hinata found Himawari and Higashi's wife, Mai, playing with the fish.

"You will get your blood, granddaughter, but you must be careful of what you sacrifice to get it."

Hinata's hand brushed against the case of senbon in her leg pouch and bowed her head to hide her guilt. "I want them to pay."

"They will," Higashi responded, steel coating his own voice as he said it. "Of that, I can assure you. They have attacked a child of our clan and the Hyuuga are nothing if not patient."

"Thank you, grandfather."

"You are most welcome, Hinata-chan. Never forget, your family is my family, too."

* * *

Sakura felt the bile rise in her throat the longer Naruto stayed silent. Calling him up to her office rather than coming down to him in Boruto's room probably hadn't been the best way to start the meeting. It had taken Tsunade's reassurances that she'd keep watch, and Sakura's reasons why she couldn't come to him, in order to make him move. Even then he'd left a clone behind.

Her hands convulsed against the paper, crinkling it loudly. Naruto's face was unreadable, something so rare she could count the number of times she'd seen him like this. It scared her; it scared her right to the core, and the longer he sat there the worse it got.

"Please repeat that, Sakura-chan." His voice was devoid of any inflection and it made Sakura's heart pound so hard against her chest it was a wonder he couldn't hear it.

"This document is a forgery," she stated, once more showing him the copy of Boruto's newborn screening. "See here," she pointed to the upper corner of the paper, which, to Naruto, looked just like all the others. "Now, if I hold it just so under the sunlight," and she moved the document over a bit to catch the natural rays coming in from the window, "a mark appears." And indeed, where there had once been a blank space, now a tiny stylized symbol of a slug appeared in the upper-right hand corner.

"This symbol is my personal seal. I put it on every official document in the hospital. It means that I understand that I am responsible for the accuracy of the information. But Naruto," and she looked him dead in the eye, "I never put this seal on Boruto's screening. When he was born, Tsunade-sama was still the head of the hospital. Her seal was the one on Boruto's information, not mine. Which means-"

"We have a spy in the hospital," Naruto interrupted. Sakura could only collapse back into her chair and nod.

"Yes, one clever enough to know about the seals, but not to use the correct one. Whoever they are may not even realize it changes with each new head."

"Or didn't think you would notice."

"That too. My seal is remarkably similar to Tsunade-sama's. Enough so that a quick glance wouldn't catch it. Even I had to examine it carefully."

Naruto nodded his head slowly and Sakura itched to know what was going through his mind. Her own thoughts were spinning at the implications and she couldn't imagine what he was thinking.

"Are there any others?"

Sakura sighed. "Yes." She picked up six more files and turned them to face him. "These are your's, Hinata's, mine and Sasuke's. Himawari's has also been forged, along with Sarada's medical files. For the first time, I'm actually relieved Karin keeps forgetting to send me her birth file."

"Unless she's not forgetting."

"What?" Sakura's eyes went wide at the implications, cold fear filling her stomach.

Naruto slouched in his seat, but plowed on. "I don't want to think it of her Sakura-chan – she is family in some way or another – but I can't afford not to. Not now. She did work for Orochimaru."

"'Did' being the operative word." Naruto continued to look at her with those heart-wrenching eyes until she caved. "But you're right. She did work for him."

"For the record, I doubt she's doing anything intentionally wrong, but I can't take that chance now."

"I know," Sakura sighed. "And Karin is easy to lead on if you give her something else to focus on."

"Like a person?"

"Or an idea." Sakura's lips pulled up in a grim smile. "She's a medic, Naruto, and I'll be the first to admit that shinobi medics are some of the most curious people you'll ever find. Give us something to new to discover and we might not think about the consequences."

"Admitting to flaws, Sakura-chan?" Naruto teased half-heartedly.

"Only to you, idiot. Don't go spreading them around."

"I'd never." A grin slipped onto his face for the barest second before vanishing.

The levity in the room slowly disappeared as the heavy feeling of unwanted knowledge settled in.

"Was any member of your team absent yesterday?" Naruto asked after a minute of stifling silence.

Sakura thought hard on it, before shaking her head. "No. We stayed in formation the entire time and they were with me throughout the surgery. All of them also have information inhibiting seals at the base of their skulls. It's required to work in the G-Unit."

Naruto sighed and dragged his hands down his face. "Okay. Is there anyone you can think of?"

"Of the top of my head?" She raised an eyebrow. "I'm sure you know my thoughts on the matter."

"He's forbidden from entering the hospital."

"Yes, because that's going to stop him," she said, sarcasm dripping off her tongue. "Honestly, Naruto, I'm wondering why you haven't dragged him in already."

"Who says I haven't?"

"Hmm?" Sakura frowned at the sharp little grin spreading across Naruto's face. "When?"

"Kabuto is never alone, Sakura-chan. You know this."

"That doesn't-"

"He's _never alone_," Naruto repeated, raising his eyebrow.

Sakura's brow knitted in confusion before what he was saying sank in and her eyes widened. "You have spies on him."

"Of course. Kakashi-sensei insisted on it at the end of the war. I didn't agree at the time, but I've learned. If there's one thing Kakashi-sensei drilled into my head before I took this job, it's practicality. Besides that, I make sure to check in on him during my sweeps-" Naruto cut off. He felt the blood drain from his face and sat up straighter in his chair.

"Naruto?" asked Sakura, concerned. "What's wrong? Naruto!"

"I've got to go," Naruto said, breathily. In a daze, he lifted himself from the chair and, ignoring Sakura's increasingly panicked calls, raced out of the room. He bounded out of the hospital and across rooftops, arriving in his office not a minute later.

With frantic hands, Naruto pushed aside empty ramen cups and unfinished paperwork, so that a portion of his desk was left clear. He bit off a piece of skin from his thumb with more force than was necessary, letting blood bead along the extremity as he slammed his hand onto the wood surface. Instantly, a black seal carved itself onto the desk before vanishing and revealing a hidden compartment.

Naruto wrenched open the wood and pulled out a small black book that looked as if it had seen better days. He flipped open the cover, allowing his fingers to flitter through the pages in a desperate search for information.

"June, September, November. 1692, 1693, 1696, 1697." He mumbled the months and years off under his breath, desperately hoping he was wrong.

He reached the last entry.

"August 31, 1698." The day after Sakura took over the hospital from Tsunade.

Naruto almost collapsed where he stood. With shaking hands, he put the book back in the compartment and sealed it back up. Mechanically, he righted the ramen cups and placed the unimportant documents back where they were and looked out the window. In the distance, he could just make out the main gate of the Konoha Orphanage.

His jaw clenched and his hands balled into fists. He tried counting to ten in his head like Hinata taught him before continuing the count because ten just wasn't high enough. When he finally felt like he wasn't going to kill the next person he saw, Naruto forced his feet to move. It was slow at first, but as thoughts continued to race through his head he began to run, heading to a small red-roofed shop off the main street.

He entered the building at a sprint, taking long strides passed shelves adorned with weaponry. Twisting behind the counter, he wrenched open the door displaying an EMPLOYEES ONLY sign and entered a small side room filled with wet stones and welding tools. It was a cozy room, shaded in reds and browns, and was littered with weapons in need of attention. Naruto ignored them all in favor of a worn tapestry. It was of good quality, but showed signs of wear and tear. The colors were dulled from time and it looked like nothing more than a half-hearted attempt at decoration.

Naruto bit his thumb again and smeared his blood across the sword depicted in the picture. He then flared his chakra in a rapid succession of _bright, muted, long, short, bright, short, muted_, _hold_, before the sword began to glow a faint blue color. A seal appeared across the thread and where there had once been a tapestry, now stood a metal door. He walked through the door quickly, leaving the seal to reset, and soon found himself in a sprawling underground compound filled to the brim with weapons and technology.

Shinobi raced to and fro, only pausing in their actions to acknowledge their leader. Naruto just barely remembered to reply to their greetings as he let his feet carry him down to level six – The Research Division.

The faintest scent of vinegar wafted from the room at the end of the hall, its only occupant a double-bunned woman slouched over an array of weapons. Her hair was askew and her posture tired, but she continued working with a steady hand born from years of practice.

"Tenten."

The kunoichi looked up from the table, grease stains visible on her cheeks under the white light, and hastily drew herself up straighter.

"Hokage-sama," she said. "I don't have anything new for you yet, but Sai-"

Naruto waved his hand aside. "I know. I need to see the seals."

"O-of course," she responded, startled somewhat by the abrupt nature of the request, but didn't argue. "I have one of them here," she said as she lifted a small blade off the stainless steel table.

For all intents and purposes, the tanto looked as normal as any other. Unadorned and functional, it hardly looked like the type of instrument that would worry Tenten. The only thing interesting about it was the shape.

Tenten pointed to the tip. "This style is called a kubikiri. I've rarely seen it used in combat simply because it lacks the usual sharp end. Most weapon users consider it too impractical. The blade," she drew her index down the inner curve, "is situated on the inside rather than the outside, and most people tend to view this style as purely ceremonial. When it is used to fight, however, it's considered more of a finishing instrument. Your opponent is already down and you use this to lop off the head. Hunter-nin have been known to carry them sometimes."

"So there were hunter-nin amongst the group?"

Tenten shook her head. "That's what I originally thought until Sai and I compiled the rest of their inventory. Most of their weapons use this style of blade. I've never seen anything like it."

"Can you think of any other reason for it?"

"Not off the top of my head," she admitted. "The only way they could make this work is if they were fast enough to get inside your guard at the correct angle to drag the blade across with the inner edge. And trust me, that's difficult. It would be much more practical to use a sharp-tipped blade."

Naruto nodded his head in thought. "Could the seals help rectify this?"

Tenten shrugged. "It's possible, but unlikely. From what I could discern there's some sort of stabilizing seal overlapping a transmitter seal, mixed in with a whole bunch of other seals I've never seen before."

"Hmm," Naruto leaned in closer to the weapon to scrutinize it, though he couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. "And the seals are on the blade?"

"The grip actually," Tenten corrected. "The only thing I've been able to determine for sure is the visibility seal, but that's so basic anyone could see it. If you channel chakra into the handle," she motioned towards the wood, "they'll appear."

Naruto followed the weapon mistress' instructions and channeled a tiny trickle of chakra into the wood. Almost immediately, a complicated sealing array lit up the grip, and Naruto suddenly felt like his body was made of lead. It was as if gravity doubled around him, pulling him down and compressing his body together. He took a startled gasp and put the tanto down. Instantly, he could breathe again.

"Yeah, it does that too," she added. The twitch above her eye indicated she was all too familiar with the feeling. She handed him a pair of thick gloves and urged him to put the on. "The gloves help, but not for long. Sai and I have been taking turns copying the seals down for analysis, but each weapon has slight differences in their matrices so it's taking some time." She held out the weapon to him again and he channeled an even smaller amount. It was harder to do through the thick hide, but before long, the faint glow of activated fuinjutsu once more lit up the grip. Tenten was right – the gloves did help – though the pressure in the air still seemed to double.

"Here's the main stabilizer," she said, pointing to the top of the grip. "There are about five smaller ones positioned around the wood, but this one is the only one directly connected to a transmitter. The only problem is that normally a transmitter seal-"

"Would be too fragile to directly partner with a stabilizer," the Hokage mused, more to himself than to her. He found himself engrossed in the matrix, his years of study useless against the pattern.

Tenten nodded anyway. "Exactly." She tilted her head to scrutinize him. Her eyes narrowed as she noted the tenseness in his posture and the way his gaze seemed to be searching for something. Moving just a bit closer, she gently placed her hand on his shoulder to grab his attention.

"Naruto?" She asked, calling his attention away from the sword. "Why did you come down here? I know you read my report."

She could see the reluctance in his face. He kept biting his inner lip and his eyes flickered around the room, seemingly intrigued by the room's almost medical sterility. He wouldn't look at her.

"Naruto?"

"I didn't feel them," he said after a moment.

Tenten felt her brow furrow in her confusion. "What?"

"It's been years since I've had to touch Kurama's chakra in order to feel negative emotions," Naruto began. "Sensing has become almost second nature to me anymore that I barely have to think about it. But Tenten," he turned unnerving eyes to her, "I didn't feel them. I felt absolutely nothing. No negativity, no bloodlust, no anger. Not even the barest hint of foreign chakra. Even old Root shinobi aren't that skilled."

Tenten felt numb. She knew how powerful of a sensor Naruto had become. Visibly using the Kyuubi's chakra these days was now nothing more than a scare tactic. For someone like him to not sense these intruders – it made her blood run cold.

But Naruto wasn't done.

"After the war, Kakashi gave me a list of shinobi to keep my eye on. I didn't like it, but he told me it was for the good of the village and so I did it. For years, there have been shinobi in Konoha I've kept in check by reading their emotions. I used to do a sweep at least four times a week, maybe more depending on Kakashi. It became such a routine, I barely even thought about it."

She could figure out where this was going. "When was your last sweep?"

"Over a year ago: August 31, 1698."

Tenten inhaled shakily. "Something that ingrained…you don't just forget."

"No." Naruto shook his head. "But I haven't checked since, and I haven't been inclined to. I can't even remember thinking about it."

"And you think these seals might have something to do with it?" She questioned. "Is that even possible?"

"I didn't think so, but now…" he trailed off, staring back at the sword. "We don't know what these do, Tenten. For all we know they could-" he stopped, his eyes widening.

"They could…what?"

"These are Uzumaki seals," he whispered throatily.

Tenten blanched. "What?" She leaned in closer to get a better look, but couldn't see anything even remotely Uzumaki about the design. There were no obvious swirls or carefully constructed chaos to the matrix. In fact, it was decidedly precise – elegant even. All the Uzumaki seals she'd seen were a mess of illogic. Her forehead wrinkled. "What makes you think they're Uzumaki?"

He pointed to the five stabilizers. "It's a hidden swirl. The grip acts as the center of the spiral with each seal point acting as connectors. I've seen a few in what my mom managed to salvage from Uzushio, but nothing as complicated as this one. I don't even know what some of these do."

"The Uzumaki were supposed to have destroyed their library."

"Enough members managed to escape. Who knows what level they were all at or what they managed to sneak off with. In their prime, the clan was said to be able to win battles before the enemy even knew they were there. It took three villages to take them down. Who knows what they could really do."

And wasn't that a terrifying thought.

Tenten looked down at the innocuous little blade and tightened her jaw. This gave her a lot to think about, none of it good.

"I wonder if Sai's had better luck?" She mused.

"I believe I have, Tenten-san."

Well, speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Naruto and Tenten whirled around to see Sai standing in the doorway, two tanto in his hands, and with an expression on his face that seemed to war between excited and solemn. His hands were covered in the same thick hide gloves Naruto was wearing and, as he walked towards them, his gait seemed light as air. It was as if he was suddenly weightless. No doubt, he was getting used to the dramatic shifts in pressure caused by the seals.

"Sai," Naruto nodded his head. "You have something for us?"

"Indeed, Hokage-sama. It's the transmitter seals; they're short range, but they're not relaying to each other," he said, and odd glint of enthusiasm edging his voice.

"What?" Tenten cried. "That's impossible. Short-range transmitter seals only work within three meters of each other. There's no point in having them if they're not connected to another weapon."

Sai tilted his head. "It's true. They don't correspond to each other."

"How is that possible?"

"They're empty," Sai added like it was obvious, but both Naruto and Tenten could only stare in incomprehension.

Naruto got his voice back first. "Sai, did you just say the transmitters were _empty_?"

"Yes."

"That's not possible. The seal would fall apart. It would be nothing more than regular ink."

Sai shrugged. "Be that as it may, they are empty. There are blockers surrounding the seal keeping the sustaining chakra of the other seals out. The transmitters are nothing more than ink."

"That makes no sense," Tenten whispered in her confusion. She gripped her head as if to ward off a headache. "Seals need to hold some trace amount of chakra in them in order to function when activated. They can't be empty."

"Apparently they can."

"Not helping, Sai."

"If the seals are there, they have to serve a purpose. Otherwise, the matrix would fall apart. We just need to find out what that purpose is."

"And how do we do that, Hokage-sama?"

"We talk to their owners."

* * *

"I'm sorry, you want me to what?"

Ino's expression could have made Madara back down in fear. Not for the first time, Naruto wondered how Sai did it. Ino was as terrifying as she was beautiful and here Sai stood, right in front of her, grinning as if Ino's razor-like smile was a common occurrence. If he didn't know better, Naruto would swear his old teammate got some sort of weird, masochistic pleasure out of finding the best way to tick her off.

"I want you to give one of your friends their chakra back."

Ino crossed her arms. "Ah-huh," she laughed out, thinking them all mad. "You want _me_ to let someone I've been _torturing_ for almost two days, have their chakra back?"

"And give them a sword."

She threw her hands up in the air. "Oh, of course! How silly of me. Of course they get a sword," she mocked. Her eyes sharpened into flint as she pointed her finger at them. "Have all of you lost you minds? Is this some sort of joke? You don't just give someone you've been raking for information a means to fight back. It's Interrogation 101: sap them of their hope and watch them sing."

"We don't want you to give them all their chakra, just a trickle. Enough for them to think they have a fighting chance," Tenten tried to explain, but it seemed to only make Ino angrier.

"They're not supposed to have a fighting chance," she stated. "Yeah, we offer them some pretty little promises in the beginning – tell them we'll go easy on them if they give us what we want, their death will be quick, they'll go home – but we don't actually give them a means to go through with it."

"Ino this is the only sure-fire way we'll figure this out quickly," Naruto said.

"This?" Ino asked, folding her arms. "What is this? Because from my angle, _this_," she gestured around them, "is insanity."

Naruto sighed, pushing down his annoyance. "I could order you."

"You could," Ino agreed. "But you're not. Which means you want my honest opinion. And my honest opinion is that this is a stupid plan."

"You have free reign to do it as you like, we just need them to be pushed far enough to use the sword."

The blonde interrogator pulled back a bit. "Why?" She asked, intrigued despite herself.

"There's an anomaly in the design," Tenten piped up. "We want to know what it does."

"And you think letting them think they can escape will force them to act?"

"Exactly."

Ino sighed and sagged back against her desk. "I can't believe I'm agreeing to this."

"So you'll do it?" Sai asked.

"Yes, fine, I'll do it. But don't blame me if this blows up in our faces."

"Never," said Naruto, relieved.

Ino nodded. She pursed her lips in thought and said, "There is one person I could use. She's a bit out of it, half-crazed honestly, but she's vicious enough that I think I could get her to believe escape is possible. So long as you let me do things my way, I can get her to squeal."

Sai smiled. "You're so hot when you're terrifying."

"I know," she grinned, not the least bit abashed, though Naruto and Tenten squirmed uncomfortably. Her smiled remained in place as she began to shoo them out. "Well, if you want this done quickly, get out. I don't need you all breathing down my neck. Not you, dear. You can stay," she added towards Sai.

Naruto and Tenten nodded, the blond reaching out to pat Sai on the shoulder. He looked gratefully at his fellow blonde. "Ino, thank you."

"I'm only doing this because you asked."

"I know. Thank you."

"Oh just go, you knucklehead. I've got this."

Naruto grinned. "Then I leave it in your capable hands, Yamanaka-san."

"Don't worry, Hokage-sama. I'll make her sing." And with that Cheshire look Naruto didn't doubt her for a second. He nodded again and swept towards the door. The last thing he heard before it shut behind him was Ino's soft voice asking Sai, "How's Inojin?"

Naruto didn't wait to hear any more. He picked up his pace and strode back down the hall towards home.

* * *

"I thought you were still at the hospital."

"Something came up."

Hinata lifted her head from the frilly pink pillow and gently turned it so as not to disturb her daughter. Her husband stood in the doorway of Himawari's bedroom, gazing at them both as if to remind himself they were okay. She looked back down at the little girl clutched to her chest. Soft, steady breaths fell rhythmically from Himawari's lips as she slept. It was an adorable sight, but the picture was marred by the dichotomy between her and her brother.

"She thought he was dead." Hinata's soft words pierced through the air and slammed into Naruto with all the force of a freight train.

"What?"

His wife's lip quivered. "Himawari. She asked me if Boruto was dead."

Naruto couldn't even comprehend it. "Why would she think that?

His wife shrugged helplessly. "I don't know. She said I was sad and black."

"Black?"

"Apparently, her Byakugan has some side effects." Hinata shook her head in horrified wonderment. "I knew Boruto was like you. He could always feel others' emotions. But for Himawari to _see_ them…I didn't want that for her. I didn't want her to know what people were feeling."

Naruto took a shaky breath. "It's not so bad."

"Not so bad," Hinata snorted. "I saw what it did to you when Kakashi asked you to use it around the village. There were days you would come home and it would take me hours to make you smile. And now I know I can't protect my children from the same thing."

"Hinata…"

"Do you think he felt it?" She asked as if he hadn't even spoken. "Do you think he felt their intentions?"

She looked at him with such an expression that it made it hard for him to speak. He shook his head. "No," Naruto whispered.

"Did you?"

Oh gods, he didn't want to answer that.

"No," he whispered again, barely audible even in the silence of the room.

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Are you going to find out?"

"Yes."

Hinata nodded as if that answered everything. "Good."

Naruto watched as she traced a gentle finger down their daughter's cheek, her pale eyes glowing in the moonlight. She was so beautiful and the sight made his chest ache.

"I'm going after them."

Naruto swore his heart stopped.

"What?"

"Team Nu. If there are any clues as to what happened to them, I need to find it."

"Hinata, no." Naruto stepped further into the room, desperately wanting to shake sense into his wife when something glistened out of the corner of his eye. A packet of senbon sat open on the little wood side table, the flap opened innocently and reflecting tiny rays of moonlight onto the walls.

His face hardened into stone at the sight and his wife wouldn't meet his eyes. A part of him felt angry at Tenten for not warning him, but it was overshadowed by dread. Tentatively, his fingers reached out to the needle-like weapons, but drew back before he could touch them.

"Hina-"

"Don't," she cut in. "Don't tell me I can't." She looked up at him, eyes unwavering and halting any argument her husband might make. "We can't do anything without proof and I can get that proof."

"Sasuke can get that proof, too."

"_Sasuke_, is not his _mother_." She calmed herself with a steadying breath before speaking again. "Sasuke is following one lead. Let me follow another. I'm one of the best trackers in this village and my team is second to none. Please, Naruto, I can't-" she cut off to choke back a sob. Once she got her voice under control, she continued. "I can't just sit here, knowing that I could be doing more."

"More? What more do you think you could be doing?" Naruto finally snapped. "Hinata, you've managed to keep the clan from going into a blood frenzy. You've kept this village running. Himawari-"

"Don't say she needs me to protect her. She has the entire clan to look out for her. I can't do anything compared to that."

"That's a lie and you know it," Naruto stated. "The clan is not her mother. She needs you. _I _need you."

With that out in the air, the tension that had slowly built up between them seemed to shake and then shatter. Hinata found herself slumped over the side of the bed with Naruto's hands around her's as he kneeled before her on the floor.

"I _need _you, Hinata. I need you here, _safe_, where I know I can turn to you when I don't know what the hell I'm doing."

"Oh Naruto, I don't know what I'm doing either. I'm so confused I don't know which way is up anymore."

"Then stay."

"I can't," she said, her voice coming out strained and throaty. "They've already hurt our son. What if Himawari is next?"

Naruto flinched. He tried to hide it, but Hinata was a Hyuuga and they were trained from birth to notice any minutiae of movement. Her brow knitted in confusion.

"Naruto?"

"I talked to Sakura-chan today," he began. He just had to keep telling himself that Hinata needed to know. "She was going over Boruto's paperwork."

"And?"

He licked his lips, finding them suddenly dry. "She found something. Boruto's medical files were forged. As were our's, Sakura's, Sasuke's, Himawari's and Sarada's."

All the air seemed to leave Hinata and she sagged forward. "What?"

"Our best guess is that they were copied about a year ago, around the time Sakura-chan took over the hospital."

"But that's – how?"

"We don't know."

Naruto allowed her time to absorb the information. He watched as her eyes flickered back and forth as she reconciled what she'd just been told. Absently, he stroked her hand with his thumb.

A moment passed. Then two. Until finally Hinata drew herself up with a sharp inhale and squared her shoulders.

"I need to talk to Kiba and Shino."

"Hinata, no," Naruto pleaded.

"I have to," she stressed. Cupping his cheek, she repeated it. "No one else is going to be able to track these people."

"I had a similar confidence in Team Nu."

She tilted his chin up so she could look him in the eye. "They weren't us. We're the best."

"And if you don't come back?"

"I will."

"You promise?"

"Promise of a lifetime."

* * *

Kiba awoke to the sound of knocking at his window. He groaned, rolling over to catch sight of his still sleeping wife, and then to the flashing clock.

_2:53 AM_

He groaned again, louder this time, and Tamaki twitched in her sleep. The knock came again.

"I'm up, I'm up," he grumbled under his breath, and then stifled a yawn.

Rolling off the bed, he grabbed his robe from a nearby chair and padded softly over towards the window. Only a trusted individual would be able to make it passed the wards without triggering an alarm so he wasn't too worried, but – given present events – he grabbed for the kunai on his bed stand just in case.

He pushed the window open and blinked in surprise.

"Hinata?" His grip on the kunai loosened and he glanced frantically around. "What are you doing here? Is Boruto okay?"

"Kiba-kun," she said softly, steadily. The look on her face made Kiba's stomach roll and he found himself standing straighter.

He swallowed passed the lump in his throat. "Hinata, what's going on?"

"I need your help."

* * *

"Transmission complete. Decrypting. Stand by."

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. _

"Uchiha. What have you found?"

"Nothing good."

* * *

**And that's that! I hope it's managed to live up to expectations and was worth the wait. I hope to have the next chapter up soon, but I can't make any promises as to when. Thank you very much to all of you reading! Please review, but don't flame. I accept constructive criticism, but flames are of not use to anyone. **

**Have a wonderful day/night!**

**~Alabaster Ink**


	5. I Wouldn't Bury A Field of Corpses

**Yay, chapter 5! Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews last chapter. They really helped to brighten up my day and made all the effort and stress worth it. This chapter is my longest yet as we move along into the plot, and I really hope you all enjoy it. I currently don't have a beta, so please excuse any grammar, punctuation, and/or spelling errors. Hopefully, I got them all, but you never know. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot, some of my baddies, Naku and Shiro. I'm just playing around someone else's sandbox. **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

**What I Wouldn't Do**

**Chapter 5: I Wouldn't Bury A Field of Corpses **

_Mom? Dad?_

_I don't feel so good. Do I have to go to school today?_

_Mom?_

_Can you hear me? My head hurts. _

_Are you getting me soup? I'm not that hungry. I think I slept through my alarm. _

_I feel really heavy. It hurts. Can you turn on the light?_

_Dad?_

_Are you there? _

_It's really dark. I don't like it. _

_Where are you?_

…_Mom? _

…_Dad?_

_I'm scared._

* * *

"What do we have?"

Nara Shikamaru marched into the Information Center with all the aplomb of a man two days short on sleep and feeling it. His hair was pulled hastily up into his signature style, there were bags under his eyes, and somewhere in the back of his mind, he wondered if he had built up enough extra sleep over the years to make it through the next few days. His face was emotionless, but he twitched at every sudden noise and the florescent glow of the surrounding lights hurt his eyes.

Ino – somehow managing to look impeccable even at four in the morning – walked in step beside him, her heels _click-clacking_ against the rough wood of the hall. Her expression was stony as she held a thin file over to him. "Sasuke found something. He wants to know how to proceed."

Shikamaru paused. "_Sasuke_ is asking for orders?"

Ino shrugged. "You haven't heard what he found."

"It's that bad?"

"It's…" she trailed off, trying to figure out what to say, before realizing it was a lost cause and giving up. "Honestly, Shikamaru, I don't know what it is."

That was concerning. Shikamaru raised his eyebrow and resumed his walk, his stride a tad brisker than before. "You don't know what it is or you don't know what to make of it?"

"Both if I'm staying honest," she said. "I sent Tori to inform the Hokage."

"This can't be done without him?" Because Naruto had gotten even less sleep than he had, and Shikamaru was ready to collapse. If he could spare his leader even one extra hour to bring him up tomorrow, he'd do it.

But Ino shook her head. "No." And she left it at that.

The duo quickly came upon their destination – a giant, circular room surrounded by the glow of computer monitors. All around them a skeleton crew of analysts sat with their faces glued to the screens. It was a veritable web of information being tossed about and decoded. Most of the analysts were visibly of the Aburame Clan, their garb making them stand out amongst their counterparts. This was not a surprise given the Aburame Clan's monopoly over digital information gathering; they practically ran this section of the department.

Beyond them, at the end of the row of monitors, stood an innocuous looking brown door. If anyone were to ask, the analysts would simply say it was a storage closet. They might even open it to show they weren't lying. It was just one more unimportant spot in a building full of unimportant spots. No one cared to watch as the Nara and Yamanaka duo walked to the door and disappeared inside.

The room was smaller, with all the accouterments of a cramped boardroom. There was a large computer screen set up against one wall and the two had to be careful so as not to trip over the multitude of wires stretched across the floor. A large table was situated in the center surrounded by plush chairs as the room's only comfort. Facing away from them, Sakura sat with her arms stapled under her chin, her face set in apprehension as she spoke with Sasuke over the speakerphone.

"…not good. How many did you find?"

"Three-hundred twenty-seven. All dead, bar two."

"And those two?"

"I'd kill them now if I wasn't sure the benefits of keeping them alive outweighed the risks."

"Sasuke…"

"It would be a mercy, Sakura."

"Leave that for a medical professional to decide. Shizune-sempai is dealing with an outbreak near the capital. She's due back any day, but we could reroute her. She'd have a full team at your disposal."

"The last team supposedly at my disposal died before they crossed the border."

Sakura didn't so much as flinch. "And they had been running full speed for almost a day. Besides that, Shizune's team has currently been without contact. The likelihood of information getting out is significantly lower."

"Hn," Sasuke intoned. "How fast could they get here?"

"Three hours," Shikamaru interjected. Sakura and Udon – who up until then had been engrossed in his tablet – twisted in their chairs to look at him, neither appearing surprised at the intrusion. "If they left now, that is."

"We need Naruto's permission to reroute a team," Sakura said.

"He should be here soon," Ino replied, crossing her arms. "I sent Tori to inform him."

Sakura and Udon nodded as the duo joined them around the table.

"Uchiha. This is Shikamaru and Ino. What have you found?"

"It's not pretty. If Naruto's coming, we should wait for him," Sasuke said.

"No need," came a voice from behind them. The group immediately stood up and turned towards the source, bowing their heads as they did so.

"Hokage-sama," they said.

Naruto waved his hand, lacking the patience to deal with inconsequential formalities so early in the morning. He took his seat at the head of the table and motioned for the others to sit down. "What have you got, Sasuke?" He asked without preamble.

"Bodies. Over three-hundred."

"Shinobi?"

"Children." A pause. "Most of them are in test tubes, dead. A few seem to have been abandoned mid-autopsy. They're…putrefying."

"Putrefying?" Ino questioned. She and Sakura exchanged confused glances. "They can't have been there more than a month then. Is there any evidence of recent activity?"

"Not in the compound, and there's at least a few centimeters of dust gathering over the equipment."

"Zinc chloride?" Sakura asked, looking at Ino.

The Yamanaka shrugged and said, "Possibly. Could also be carbolic acid."

"And that would…?" Naruto trailed off, his gaze flickering between the two women for an explanation. He tried unsuccessfully not to think about children decaying on a coroner's slab.

"Among other things, zinc chloride and carbolic acid have been known to slow down putrefaction. It would expand our window of time, but I don't know if it would be enough to account for that level of dust build up," Sakura said.

Naruto nodded. Of course, it would be something that. When was anything around him normal? His hand went up to rest on his chin in thought. "Sasuke, do you have enough storage scrolls to transfer all the bodies here for autopsy?"

"No, and I don't have the necessary materials to make them all."

Naruto grimaced and turned to his advisor. "Do you know of any way we can get those bodies examined before they become too far gone?"

"We were discussing that earlier," Shikamaru said. "Sakura mentioned Shizune was finishing up with the outbreak near the capital. We could direct her to Sasuke's location."

"How long would that take?"

"If we sent the message now, she could be there by sunrise."

"Perfect," Naruto nodded. "Udon, tell Shizune to reroute to location O-92R and await further orders. Wait for confirmation."

"Sir." Udon's fingers flew across the miniature computer. He quickly typed up the message and relayed it to Shizune's team. All outbound teams were required to have 24/7 monitored communications, so it only took a few seconds before they had a response.

"Hokage-sama, Shizune is relocating as we speak. She estimates time of arrival at 0800 hours, baring complications." And it wasn't hard to figure out what he meant by 'complications'.

Naruto thought of his wife for only the briefest moment before stubbornly squashing it. They had a plan, hastily erected and loath as he was to go along with it. A part of him still wondered how she'd managed to get him to agree to let her go. If she didn't come back–no. As long as she stuck to her part, she would be fine. She'd promised.

"Sasuke, do any of the bodies have any identifying traits?" Sakura's voice broke through the fog of Naruto's fears. He watched as she motioned to Udon sitting poised between them. The bespectacled man's fingers lay on the tablet ready to run a check on any missing children.

Sasuke didn't respond for a minute, though the group could hear muttering on the other side of the com.

"Sasuke?"

A sigh. "If you consider the fact that they're all identical 'identifying', then yes."

"Identical?" Shikamaru questioned. His brow furrowed and already Naruto could see the hundreds of different theories flitting across his face. Naruto hoped his friend could come up with an explanation because he had nothing.

"I can't see any physical differences. I'd say they were all kage bunshin, if they weren't so obviously biological. Two of them are alive, but it will be a miracle if they live long enough to get back to Konoha. I won't risk touching them."

"Good. Wait for Shizune's team before you proceed on that end. Are they conscious?" Sakura asked.

If they could see him, Naruto would bet Sasuke was shaking his head. "No. They're in incubators, attached to some type of artificial lung."

"Artificial…" Sakura trailed off with a sigh. "They won't make it back. Not even a miracle could manage that one."

"One of my cousins is on Shizune-sempai's team, though," Ino stated. "If they can get there in time, she could probably do a mind scan."

"On someone that far gone?" Shikamaru inquired, skeptically.

Ino smirked. "It's Ming's specialty."

A frustrated growl brought the group's attention away from the conversation to find Udon glaring down at his tablet in annoyance. His fingers flickered and twirled across the screen in a blur of motion. Naruto could only barely see what he was doing from the reflection in his glasses, and even then he couldn't understand it. "Is there a computer nearby?" The man asked, not bothering to look up.

A huff echoed over the phone. "Which one? It's a lab."

Udon adjusted his glasses. "To have the necessary processing power…it will probably be the largest one in the room."

There was a faint shuffling noise across the com as Sasuke shifted, looking for anything that fit Udon's description. The scuffling continued for a few minutes until Sasuke's voice filtered through the chamber once more. "The only one I can see has more dust on it than Naruto's textbooks."

"Oi," Naruto grumbled as the others tried – and failed – to hide smiles.

Udon recovered first. His finger swirled across the tablet in a looping pattern before finally settling. "If it was only recently abandoned…" he trailed off musing to himself and fiddled with the mini-computer some more. Udon ignored the questioning looks from his colleagues as he glanced up quickly and said into the communicator, "Uchiha-san, can you tell if the computer is operational?"

"It turns on."

If Sasuke's goal was to make Udon's eye twitch then he succeeded. The man looked like he wanted to say something snarky but considering the limited time, thought better of it. "Can you access any of the information?"

"No. There's a passcode. I'm sure I could figure it out with enough time."

"No, no, don't risk it," Udon advised quickly. "There might be a termination sequence built into the system. You could trigger it if you don't put in the correct passcode. Alright, umm, there should be a small box near the computer, probably with some sort of antenna on it. This is the router. Do you see it?"

The group could hear movement on the other side of the com and then a sudden rumble of shifting equipment. There was a pause and then Sasuke said, "Black with two spokes on top? Wires coming out of it?"

Udon debated with himself for a second. "Is it the only one nearby?" Sasuke replied in the affirmative. "Then most likely yes."

"Most likely?"

Naruto watched as Udon's eye began to twitch again. He was going to have some serious muscle problems if that kept up. "Yes, 'most likely.' That's the best you're going to get without me being able to see it."

"Tch," and it wasn't difficult to imagine Sasuke rolling his eyes. "What should I do with it?"

"Do any of those wires look like they fit into the computer?"

A shift. "Yes."

"Good. Plug it in and make sure both the computer and router are turned on."

Another moment of silence pervaded the room until Sasuke spoke again. "Now what?"

"Now," Udon said, grinning, "I take over."

Naruto could practically feel Sasuke's irritation and decided it was best to stop them there. "What will this do?"

Udon adjusted his glasses. "A lab that large has to have some way to store all their information. If I can hack into the router, that should allow me to get into the computer and give me access to any of the files. With any luck, this computer will have access to all the information I need, otherwise, I may have to get creative."

"And how long will that take?" Shikamaru asked.

Tilting his head in thought, Udon said, "Depending on how secure the computer is, anywhere from a few hours to a few days."

"A few days?"

Naruto's scowl would have caused Kaguya to sweat and Udon was nowhere near her level. The bespectacled man shifted uncomfortably from side to side and he struggled unsuccessfully not to flinch. "It shouldn't really take that long."

"What would you need to shorten the time?" Shikamaru asked with a quick glance towards Naruto. The Hokage looked ready to claw at someone and Shikamaru would much rather it not be the one person capable of hacking Orochimaru.

Udon bit his lip for a moment as he quickly tried to calculate how many man-hours it could potentially take. "An extra team and the ability to go without sleep?"

Shikamaru rolled his eyes. "Realistically."

Udon shrugged. "A team of three would be a good start."

"Done," Naruto said as he crossed his arms. "Anyone in specific?"

At this, Udon's eyes flickered uncertainly, briefly flittering to Shikamaru and Sakura, and then back down at his tablet. For a moment, the Nara was afraid Udon was about to ask them, and while Shikamaru wouldn't be that surprised, computers and hacking weren't necessarily their specialty. What came out of Udon's mouth next, however, almost sent him spiraling to the floor in shock.

"Hokage-sama, I would like to request the assistance of Aburame Shibi, Haruno Mebuki, and Nara Yoshino."

Silence.

Naruto didn't think he could be more surprised than if Tsunade came up to him and said she was giving up drinking to become a nun. His eyes slowly shifted from Shikamaru to Sakura – both looking like he had just spat on their families' ancestral graves – and then back to Udon. The young man was fidgeting with his tablet again, but that was all there was to indicate how uncomfortable he felt. Naruto didn't quite know how to respond.

Sakura did.

"Let me get this straight," she said, her fist clenching. "You want to pull three fifty-year-old shinobi out of retirement – two of whom which haven't seen the mission's office in almost thirty years – and induct them into a super-secret hacking operation when they probably don't even know what hacking is?"

"W-well-" Udon stammered before Naruto cut him off.

"Actually," he said, "that might work."

Sakura whirled on him. "You're joking, right? You have to be joking. Sasuke, tell me he's joking."

"I'm not a part of this."

"He's not joking," Ino quipped gleefully, taking in the look on Naruto's face. It was the expression of someone who couldn't actually believe what they were saying.

"Naruto, how can you agree to this?" The pink-haired medic exclaimed. "My mother hasn't been on a mission since she got married."

"But before that she was one of Konoha's premiere intelligence agents," Shikamaru sighed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose to ward off the rising headache and slumped. "As was my mother."

"That means nothing when Sarada had to show her how to use a tablet just the other day," Sakura added, a hint of desperation in her voice.

"And, like my own mother, I'm sure she picked it up alarmingly fast," Shikamaru said, pointedly. "So fast, in fact, that you couldn't help but wonder if she'd done it before."

Sakura's mouth opened and closed rapidly as she tried to think up a retort but couldn't.

"Face it, forehead," Ino said. "Your mother may not go on missions, but she's still a kunoichi, and if there's one thing kunoichi like her know how to do it's stay on top of the game." Ino then allowed a wicked grin to slither across her face. "I did wonder how she always managed to be one step ahead of the grapevine."

"But hacking?" Sakura exclaimed, grasping at straws now. She glared at Udon and Naruto. "And how do you two know about this?"

Udon quivered a bit under her gaze, but Naruto – far too used to it by now for it to have any real affect – shrugged. "According to the records, she and Yoshino have done some freelancing over the years."

"And Shibi?"

"There's a reason the Aburame have a monopoly over this department."

There was nothing Sakura could say to that. Well, actually, no. There was a lot Sakura felt she could say – how her mother was retired, how there had to be hundreds of shinobi more qualified, how this technology was still far too new and any number of things could go wrong. The problem was that they didn't have the time. Orochimaru (or whoever else) was already ten steps ahead and if they didn't catch up soon they might lose the opportunity. Boruto's life was already teetering on a knife's edge and Sakura had no wish to add her daughter's name to the list.

Sakura sighed. She knew when to concede. "Alright. If you think this will work, I won't say anything."

Udon straightened up considerably and allowed a tiny grin to slip onto his face in relief. He glanced at Naruto. "Excellent. If that's all, Hokage-sama, I will gather the paperwork."

Naruto nodded and the younger man bowed with a clipped, "Sir." He then rose and fled the room, muttering different algorithms under his breath in the hope that one of them would work in cracking Orochimaru's system.

Naruto leaned back in towards the communicator. "Sasuke, do you have anything else to report?"

"No. I'll continue searching the compound, see if I can find any other entranceways. I find it unlikely anyone's used the main entrance in years."

"Good. Report back if you find anything."

"Hokage-sama." There was a _click_ as the connection ended, and the remaining shinobi felt their muscles relax as fatigue set in. The clock above the door shown a bright red, indicating the time at 5:30 in the morning. They had been talking for almost an hour and a half.

Naruto tilted his neck twice until he heard a satisfying _crack_. "If that's everything, you're all dismissed. Go home, get some sleep."

The trio of jounin nodded as they all stretched and yawned, rising from their seats to leave the room for the sanctuary of their beds.

Before making his way out the door, Shikamaru reached into his pocket and pulled out a small scroll tied with an unassuming blue ribbon.

"The minutes from the council meeting," he said, tossing them over seemingly without a care. "Utatane-san is digitizing them, pulling out the important from the mundane," he paused, pointedly, and continued, "but I thought you'd want the original."

Naruto nodded, pleased, and stuffed the scroll in his vest pocket. "Thanks."

"Wait, Shikamaru lead a council meeting?" Ino asked, eyebrow raised and far too enthusiastic. "For the civilians? That's not one of his jobs, which means…" her eyes lit up and positively gleamed under the dim glow of the overhanging lamps. "You willingly took on extra work! Oh Shikamaru, I'm so proud of you!"

Ah, there it was. An Ino hug. He'd been waiting for something like that. Nothing quite like her special brand of bruised ribs.

Naruto smirked, snickering behind his hands. Traitor. "Special circumstances, Ino."

"You don't have to make it sound so monumental," the other man grumbled as he pulled himself from her grasp. "I'm not a genin anymore."

Ino giggled. "No, but you are a Nara. Just wait until I tell your mother."

Shikamaru stiffened. Then he glared. "You will not speak a word of this to her. She'll never let me live it down. Besides, it was either I do it, or Naruto walks in there and scares them."

Ino's brow furrowed. She shot a quick look at her leader and then back to Shikamaru. "Scares them? Naruto?"

Her old teammate's face fell, evening into a deadpanned expression that just screamed 'are you serious?' He pointed a finger at the sunny blond and said, "Have you looked at him? Does that look reassuring to you?"

Ino did look, following her old teammate's finger to Naruto's twitching face and ignored the mumbled "I'm right here," from the man. She bit her lip and scrunched up her nose, noting Sakura doing the same out of her peripheral. She supposed Shikamaru had a point. Naruto's natural tan was pale and waxy, and the bags under his eyes were so large she could carry something in them. His clothes were rumpled, his hair a mess, and his sclerae were bloodshot. On the whole, he looked dead on his feet. But then, Shikamaru forgot who he was talking to.

"Shika, I'm the head of Torture and Interrogation. My sense of 'reassuring' is not aiming to break someone."

The brunette scowled. "Well then, take it from me. _That_," he said, pointing to a disgruntled Naruto, "is not something we want to show our civilian council."

"I am right here, Shikamaru," Naruto added, blithely. "And I am your boss. And I can give you more work. So please, keep talking."

Shikamaru ignored Sakura's and Ino's snickers and wisely kept his mouth shut as Naruto flashed him a smug grin. Naruto was still smirking as he turned to his fellow blonde and said, "But that does remind me. Ino, do you have everything ready for what I asked you?"

The woman stopped giggling to stare at him blankly. "I had maybe two hours between you coming to me and this getting dropped on my lap, and you're actually asking me if I have everything ready?" She got up in his face and he couldn't help but swallow harshly at the look on her face. Now it was Shikamaru's turn to smirk. _Not so funny on the other end, eh? _

But then Ino grinned – manically and all too pleased with herself. "Of course I do. What do you take me for, a genin?"

"Umm," Naruto tried to speak, but only ended up taking a further step backwards.

"But just so you know, if the prison alarm goes off around noon don't be alarmed, and, Shikamaru," she practically sang, saccharine sweetness dripping from her lips, "I'm going to need to borrow Temari."

"Does she know this?" Because it would get really troublesome if she didn't and he just sprung this on her at six in the morning.

Ino gasped theatrically. "Oh, course she does! What kind of friend do you take me for?"

"Well, if you're asking-"

"I'm not," she said, unperturbed. "Good thing for large clans, otherwise I'd need a new babysitter."

"There are some benefits," the Nara man quipped and then immediately sobered. "They're scared, though. And angry. Shikadai's been sharing our bed the last two nights. He says it's so we won't worry, but…"

"I know." Whatever levity Ino had interjected into the room died. "Inojin's been the same."

"As has Sarada. She's spending the night with my parents, but…" Sakura trailed off, somber eyes sliding to Naruto. Their leader and friend had tensed beside them the minute the topic changed to their children. His jaw sat locked in carefully controlled _ragefearagony_. Sakura understood. The image of Boruto on the operating table flashed in front of her and she struggled to push it away. The warmth on her hands, how they squelched and slipped with each movement. She'd never quite realized how much blood was in a child's body before.

"How's Himawari?" She asked, more out of concern for Naruto than the little girl. There was something to be said for the innocence of youth that lead Sakura to feel more afraid for Naruto's well-being than his daughter's.

"Confused," was all he would say, and an awkward silence spread out amongst the group that had the three jounin exchanging tense glances behind Naruto's back.

Sakura cleared her throat. "And Hinata?"

Nothing.

The trio stood there for a moment, each second growing more and more uncomfortable as Naruto's gaze settled over them. A chill went down their spines, those blue eyes cold and void of any emotion. His face appeared to be carved from stone.

Sakura inched forward, wary. "Naruto?"

Like a knife, the sound of her voice seemed to cut the Hokage out of whatever dark place he'd entered into. He blinked, slowly. Once. Twice. His shoulders loosened and the heavy weight of his stare lifted. Without even realizing it, the three jounin relaxed. They settled back and released breaths they hadn't realized they'd been holding. Whatever it was, it was over.

Naruto smiled – small, honest and unsettling.

"She's with Boruto."

* * *

"Hina, you know we love you in a completely platonic, sisterly manner, but are you sure about this?" Kiba yelled over the cold night air as Team 8 bounded through the trees at breakneck speed. "Like have you actually sat down and thought this through? Because I'd kinda expect this from Naruto, or even myself, but you're usually the rational one here."

Hinata closed her eyes in exasperation as Kiba questioned her for what had to be the fifth time in four hours. It wasn't that she didn't understand where he was coming from, but a little more faith would have been appreciated. She knew what she was doing.

Mostly.

She'd been planning this since the news of Team Nu's failure reached her. Actually, that was incorrect. The seeds had been planted from the moment Shino appeared in her husband's office. It had been sunny and unusually bright for such a blistery winter's day. They'd been laughing, she recalled. Himawari had drawn Naruto a picture and he'd made a joke that sent their little girl into giggles. Hinata couldn't remember what the joke was, but it'd made her smile. It had been a happy moment.

Then Shino appeared. He'd been tense, large and imposing in the doorway, as Naruto's secretary spouted her apologies for the interruption. Shino'd cut her off.

"Is Boruto ill?" He'd asked, and Hinata could remember wondering why he would ask such a thing. Boruto had been as energetic as usual when she'd sent him off that morning. He'd smiled and given her a kiss on the cheek and was out the door with a, "See you later, mom!"

She'd shaken her head, somewhat concerned but not overly so. "No, why? Does he look sick?" Boruto hardly ever took ill, so it would have to be something major for Shino to leave his class.

But Shino shook his head and spoke the words that made her world crumble out from under her.

"He is not in class and none of my students have seen him. As I normally receive prior notice of Boruto-kun's absence, I felt it prudent to consult you."

Hinata could remember watching her husband pale. How the sound of his pen snapping had reverberated throughout the office like a gong inside her brain. She could recall the feeling of her heart in her throat, and her pulse picking up as she began to panic. Naruto's cries for Shikamaru and Konohamaru had been nothing but a buzz in her ears as she'd gathered Himawari up in her arms on nothing but a basic instinct. The little girl had been confused, not understanding where her daddy had gone so quickly and why her mommy was suddenly clutching to her like a lifeline. Those first few moments were a blur, and she barely remembered sending Shino back to the Academy with orders for the students to be released into their parents' care. She might have cried.

It only got worse the longer Naruto was away. Shikamaru had kept her updated, and Konohamaru set himself up as her personal bodyguard. Himawari and Sarada remained effectively unaware, but Hinata wasn't stupid. She knew they weren't so ignorant. The councils kept her busy, fielding questions this way and that whenever she could. Not that she had much information to give. All she knew was that Boruto didn't go to class. He didn't go to class and they couldn't find him. By then, it was assumed he wasn't in the village.

A part of her could remember thinking: _he'll be okay. He'll pop up with a scowl on his face, maybe covered in dirt from running around, but he'll be okay. He's just upset Naruto has to spend so much time at work now and wants attention, but he'll turn up. He'll turn up and be okay_. Even then, she hadn't quite believed it. Boruto might act out a bit, but he was a good kid – a great kid – and he wouldn't do something like that just for attention.

_What if he's been taken…?_

But she'd hoped. She'd sat at her husband's desk for hours, the words on each document swimming in front of her eyes, and she'd _hoped_. Then there was an explosion, and Shikamaru walked in coated in soot. He'd walked in, slowly, heavily, and for once it wasn't because of laziness. She knew. Before the words ever left his mouth, she knew.

For the second time in two hours, her world had dissolved under her feet.

The first thing she'd felt was numbness. Not fear, not horror, not even anger. Those things came later. No, it was the numbness that came first.

She'd thought, _Oh, now I know. Good._ But the words hadn't really registered. Not yet. The knowledge hadn't hit. Shikamaru told Konohamaru to watch her, but it wasn't necessary. Her brother-in-law hadn't left her side since the moment Naruto ran out the door.

It wasn't until Shino appeared again and she was hugging Himawari good-bye that she felt anything more. It had started as a bubbling in her stomach, each second clawing further and further upwards passed her heart and into her throat until she had to consciously refrain from activating her Byakugan.

There was fear.

_What happened? Is he alright? What will I find?_

Horror. Denial.

_He's seven. He's in the Academy. Not my son. Not my child. _

Hope. Relief.

_He'll be okay. We found him. Sakura and Tsunade have him. Naruto's with him._

And anger. Oh, there was so, so much anger.

_How dare they? How dare they try? He's seven, he's a child, and they hurt him. They hurt my son. That was a mistake. They won't make another one. They won't be alive to. _

So she planned. All throughout that first night, she'd planned. She dreamed copper-colored nightmares and screams for mercy that _she would not give_. The scent of iron was never so welcomed and she couldn't remember the last time she'd smiled so hard and so widely. Then she woke up. She woke up with a crick in her neck and sore fingers from clutching at Boruto's bed sheets. Her son hadn't moved an inch and her husband hadn't slept and there were bags under his eyes and _how dare they._

How dare they do this to her family?

She'd picked up Himawari from Shino's and he planted one last seed in her head.

"_Should you require anything…"_

"_I can come to you."_

She got the senbon from Tenten and promised she would wait. She kept that promise. She waited until she had her grandfather's blessing; until her husband told her what he had learned. Hinata waited and planned and gathered what she needed.

Who she needed.

She glanced at her teammates and a small bubble of warmth built up in her chest.

Showing up at their homes at almost three in the morning hadn't necessarily been in her plans but the boys hadn't complained. They'd just thrown on their mission gear and followed. It was what Team 8 did.

When one of them was in trouble, the others moved in to help.

And they loved Boruto too.

Boruto and Himawari were as much Team 8 kids, as they were Team 7. Hinata couldn't remember the last time Akamaru had looked so fierce and spry, his claws set and ready to kill. Kiba, likewise, reflected his partner. His sharp canines gleamed in the early morning sunrise, sharp and deadly and ready to tear into anyone who got in their way. Shino was the hardest to decipher, but he'd been her teammate for years. The fisted hands, the buzzing most people would take as just the sounds of the forest, and the almost imperceptible way he clenched his jaw, all spoke volumes more than any words he could say.

Why she'd ever thought she would need to talk to another tracker team was beyond her. Team 8 was all she needed.

"Hinata?" Kiba's voice broke through the fog and she turned to see him staring at her with unconcealed concern. "Are you alright? Do you want to stop?"

She shook her head. "No. No, we keep going."

Kiba nodded, but she didn't need her Byakugan to notice the looks the boys gave her behind her back. She appreciated their concern, but she didn't need it. She was perfectly okay.

Akamaru gently nibbled Kiba's hand to get his attention and nodded at Hinata's back.

_This isn't good, _he seemed to say, only for Kiba to roll his eyes at him.

_Obviously. What do you expect me to do about it? _Hinata was not a vengeful person, and a part of him was frightened by what she was doing. Yeah sure, if someone attacked Tamaki or Naku he'd probably go off growling and spitting, but that was in his nature. Dogs were territorial and Inuzuka only more so. Truthfully, he'd sort of expected Hinata to spend her days sitting by Boruto's bedside and keeping Himawari distracted.

Kiba flashed Shino a pleading look. _I tried, it's your turn. _He kept up the glaring until he saw Shino sag. Years of friendship had taught him that if he really wanted Shino to do something outside his comfort zone, it was important not to let up. Everyone might say peer pressure was bad, but at least it got results. Eventually, the Aburame would give in.

Shino picked up the pace, stepping lightly off each branch to run beside Hinata. "I confess, I'm surprised Hokage-sama allowed this," he said, breaking through the thick silence for only a moment. "From my understanding, a retrieval squad has already been dispatched."

"It has," she acknowledged, but the way she turned away from him raised Shino's suspicions. He glanced back at Kiba, looking to see if he'd caught it as well. He had.

"Are we to rendezvous with the team?" Shino asked, attempting to wheedle more information out of her than the bare bones they'd been given. Kiba knew the most about what had happened to Team Nu, but Hinata hadn't spoken so much as a few sentences during the trip. While he understood she had a lot to think about, they were her team and going into this blind might just spell their deaths.

She took a deep breath. "If we can."

Shino silently marveled at how she could make that sound like a resounding '_no_'.

"And if we can't?" Kiba piped up, eyes narrowed. He leapt forward so he was level with them, consequently sticking Hinata in the middle. The sun was getting brighter over the horizon and he found himself mildly envious of Shino's visor. "Are we looking for bodies here or what? 'Cause, I don't know if you know this or not, but Nu was taken out within three minutes," he stressed. "A five-man ANBU squad dead in three minutes. I trained them. They were all jounin. There's no way that should have happened."

Shino raised an eyebrow over his visor, and, if his teammates could see them, they would have noticed how his eyes widened. "I was not aware of the swiftness with which they were dispatched."

"Yeah, well, now you know," Kiba said.

"We're not looking for bodies," Hinata interjected. She bit her lip and shifted under the sudden weight of her friends' gazes. She knew she was wrong, but it felt like they were judging her, doubting her. "The retrieval team is in charge of Team Nu. Their only job is bringing them back to Konoha for autopsy. We're here to find out where their attackers came from."

"Whoa, whoa, wait, what?" Kiba exclaimed. He pushed off another tree harsher than he intended, leaving a deep groove in the wood. His eyes shifted incredulously to his teammate before whirling to Shino. "Did she tell you this?"

"No," the Aburame said simply. He sounded mildly insulted.

"Kiba-kun-"

"No, no, no," he cut her off. "You told us we were going after Team Nu. I was like, 'whelp, okay, that makes sense, I guess. We'll look around, gather evidence, talk to the team, and go home.' You said nothing about a full-on scouting mission."

"We are a scout team," Shino stated, ignoring the way Kiba glared at him.

"Not the point, man." He jabbed a finger at Hinata. "Hina, what part of 'they came out of nowhere', didn't you understand?"

"No one just comes out of nowhere," she stressed. "They had to have some way of knowing where Nu was going to be, and if they were truly as good as you say, then it's likely they were already waiting there. They had to have some sort of camp. If we can find that, maybe we can get some information on who they were and how they knew."

"Seriously?" Kiba asked, disbelieving. He glanced at back Akamaru. "You understand me, right bud? You get how crazy this is."

Akamaru grumbled in the back of his throat, obviously torn. Kiba's eye twitched. "Traitor."

"Weren't you complaining just last week about how bored you were?" Shino questioned. He watched in bemusement as Kiba blanched and swore under his breath. "I'd thought you would be more enthusiastic about such an endeavor."

Kiba growled. "That's not…it's not – arg!" He threw up his hands in frustration. "You guys don't get it. I watched that team get demolished. Over a year of specialized training down the drain in less than three minutes. I haven't seen anything like this since the war, and you know what, yeah, it kinda freaked me out! So I'm sorry if for once in my life I decide to be the voice of reason." He brought his hands back down to his sides, took in the expressions of guilt and surprise, and shook his head with a sigh. He never thought he'd need to talk sense into Hinata and Shino.

"Look, I'm not saying we shouldn't do this," he reasoned. "Gods know these bastards deserve to choke on their own blood. I'm just saying maybe we should take a step back. There's a lot we don't know; their weapons, how they fight, hell, we can't even say it was really Orochimaru. It might be better just to do a quick search with the retrieval team, return to Konoha and come back with a bigger group."

There was a long silence. The only sounds in the forest were those of the team's feet against the wood and birds nesting in the trees. Shino was contemplative; Hinata conflicted. Kiba pretended not to notice the way her eyes wouldn't meet his.

"Perhaps," Shino murmured, "Kiba's proposal necessitates more consideration. Our opponents' abilities are unknown and our own knowledge of the situation is incomplete at best. Rendezvousing with the retrieval team may increase our chances of success."

The two watched as their words hit home. Hinata had never been able to hide what she felt around them. The famous Hyuuga mask always seemed to shatter and break in their presence, so it was with little difficulty that they saw how she warred with herself. She'd asked them for help, and they'd promised to do just that, but even she had to know what they were doing was risky.

Her jaw locked and Kiba could almost hear the sound of her teeth grinding together. Akamaru ducked his head in concern as they waited patiently for her to speak.

"We can't," she whispered, sounding as if she wanting nothing more than to turn around and go home.

Kiba groaned. Hadn't she heard a word he said? He opened his mouth to shout at her again when Shino cut him off.

"Why?" he asked, forehead furrowed. "You are not one to take such risks. As your teammates, we can attest to this. Even considering the situation, you are being unusually stubborn and unforthcoming, which leads me to believe there must be another reason."

The Inuzuka raised his eyebrow, taking in what Shino said and then tipping his head to gaze curiously at Hinata. He'd thought she was just too emotional right now to think clearly, but Shino made a good point. Hinata was a kunoichi. No matter the situation, they were taught how to compartmentalize. Hinata would never risk their lives without a really good reason.

She swallowed harshly and kept her eyes on the path before them. "Naruto has evidence of spies within the ANBU and the hospital." She ignored the way Kiba stumbled and Shino buzzed.

There was a whisper of, "The hospital?" but she ignored that too, not wanting to get into it when she herself was still trying to understand how all of this could have happened right under their noses.

"We don't know how far it reaches just yet," she continued. "Naruto may have approved this mission, but it's off the record. No one is to know we're even gone. As far as anyone's concerned, I'm spending my time with Boruto and you two are on lockdown in the Hunter Division."

"Okay…" Kiba tried to get that right in his head. It…didn't really work. "And how is that supposed to get passed Tsunade, or Sakura, or…really everyone in my department?" Shino he could maybe believe. His friend could easily disappear for a few days and no one would question where he was simply because he could so easily be overlooked.

But Tsunade would be checking in on Boruto. Sakura would be checking in on Boruto. There was absolutely no way they wouldn't notice Hinata's absence every time they entered the room. They were smart; they would know it was a lie before the day was out.

As for himself, well, not to toot his own horn or anything, but he ran the Hunter Division. Every hunter-nin, tracking team, and retrieval squad inevitably answered to him. The idea that he could leave for a few days without it being noticed – particularly now – was laughable.

Then, of course, there was the tiny little fact that both Shino and he were married men, and their wives would eventually begin asking questions – dreamy, half-asleep goodbyes notwithstanding.

Hinata tilted her head; her pearl eyes catching oddly in the sunlight, and for a brief moment Kiba could almost believe he saw a sliver of mischief there before it was snuffed out. The faintest feeling of suspicion settled in his stomach, but he couldn't deny the thrill that accompanied it. It had been a long time since they were out in the field as a team. Just what had Naruto and Hinata concocted?

"I'm sure you remember, Kiba-kun, that Naruto started his shinobi career as a prankster," she said, mildly. Kiba almost dared to think she was amused, and, oddly enough, his first thought after that was, _Gods, what kind of monster has Naruto created?_ He shook himself of the notion, not quite wanting to know, and tried to get back to the conversation at hand.

Hinata had moved ahead of them by this point. It couldn't have been by more than a couple of feet, but she almost looked like she was miles away. "Naruto once told me that he spent his childhood trying to be other people. While everyone was looking away from him, he spent his time looking at them. He would mimic them; their manners, the way they talked, how they walked. He became quite good at it."

They stared. Shino's in particular seemed to burn a hole in her back.

She didn't give them time to process the information. "When he started doing pranks, he used that to his advantage. I'm not sure if it was a conscious decision or not, but being able to mimic others allowed him to easily blend into the background." A smile twitched at her lips as she caught the expressions of disbelief flash across their faces.

"Naruto? Blend in?" Kiba asked, incredulous.

"I must confess, I too have difficulty envisioning Naruto-sama as wishing to 'blend in.' Why? Because he has always acted in a manner that would enable him to stand out."

Hinata chuffed. "Yes, well. Many of his pranks wouldn't have worked if he were caught before they were completed." She smirked. "There are even some he did that people still haven't connected to him." Hinata took their silence for what it was: astonishment.

Kiba, as usual, spoke out first. "Okay, weird as it is to think of Naruto being sneaky, that still doesn't explain how he's going to convince people we haven't left."

Hinata's grin widened and she opened her mouth-

"Yes it does," Shino stated, causing Hinata to shut her mouth with a quiet _pop_. "Naruto-sama is unique in his abilities because of his immense chakra reserves. Unlike standard shinobi, the Hokage is able to maintain multiple chakra-draining techniques simultaneously for extended periods of time. His signature jutsu, the Kage Bunshin, would allow him to be in several places at once. He knows each of us intimately enough to be able to mimic our mannerisms for a limited time. All that would be required is a strong henge."

"Uh, I don't know about you, Shino, but a henge isn't going to fool Tamaki."

"And it won't have to," the Aburame replied as he reached up to adjust his visor. "We are sequestered within ANBU, remember? Hokage-sama has us secured out of view with the exception of emergencies."

Kiba opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened it again.

"And Tsunade? Sakura? All the other medics?"

Shino shrugged. "Hinata could be sleeping. She could be in the facilities. Perhaps, she and Naruto-sama have switched places and she is with Himawari. Not that I believe either one of them knowing would be detrimental, however, Naruto-sama cannot afford the risk of information spreading, even to his most trusted allies."

Kiba's eyes darted between his two friends as he tried to figure out which one of them had lost their sanity first. He decided on Hinata.

"And you two thought this was a _good_ plan?" He stressed. "Did you guys not discuss this? What happens if something goes wrong? What happens if we're gone too long and people get suspicious? Gods Hinata, what was Naruto thinking when he thought this up?"

"If people get suspicious, Naruto will inform them that we are on a classified assignment. Naruto will, however, be bringing in Shikamaru, Sakura, and Tsunade-sama at some point today. This mission is very sensitive, Kiba-kun. We have no idea what information has already gotten out and we can't afford to remain in the dark. If something goes wrong, then we'll act as all Konoha shinobi." Her voice wavered at the end and Kiba wasn't surprised. She had two kids; he had one. Neither wanted to leave them just yet. "As for what Naruto was thinking…well, he was probably thinking I had lost my mind." Kiba's jaw dropped. No way this was Hinata's plan. Absolutely no-fucking-way. "He's not too pleased with me at the moment."

"Nonetheless," Shino interjected before Kiba could run his mouth. "This mission is important and you are right to recognize it as such. We cannot afford to wait when village intelligence has been compromised." Stupid bastard didn't even look surprised.

Shino twisted lightly off a thin branch. "Besides, Kiba," he said, a twinge of something in his voice that Kiba just knew meant he was teasing him, "aren't you always the one boasting about how we're the best tracking team in Konoha? Or were those just empty words?"

Kiba scowled. "That's low, Shino. Very low." He drew himself up. "But you're right. We are the best. And Akamaru and I have been working on some new stuff, so I guess no time like the present to test them out and all."

"Goodie."

"Thanks, Shino. Nice to know you always have my back."

"Stop!"

Hinata's sudden cry brought the two shinobi – and one dog – to a screeching halt. She sat crouched on the branch in front of them, ramrod straight and Byakugan blazing. They perched themselves behind her, poised to attack.

"Hinata?"

"I saw movement."

"Shinobi?"

"I couldn't tell." She moved her eyes frantically from side to side, trying and failing to catch sight of the shadow she'd seen. It hadn't been very big, but then most dangerous things weren't.

Kiba and Akamaru lifted their noses up and sniffed the air. A moment passed where none of them moved. Then, Kiba lowered his head back down and exchanged low growls with Akamaru before shaking his head.

"We can't smell anything out of the ordinary."

"And my kikaichu report no abnormalities."

Hinata slumped. "I can't see anyone either."

"Nevertheless, if we are being followed, we must remain vigilant."

"Right," Kiba and Hinata agreed, the latter still with her Byakugan active.

Kiba glanced around once and pulled out a circular, palm-sized device. He typed in a short code and waited a moment until the computer flashed a dim green. His eyes flickered, analyzing their position.

"We're nearing one of Yagi's seals. It was the first one we saw that showed any spike of chakra. At the time, it was so little we attributed it to the wildlife."

"And now?"

"Hindsight."

"We won't make the same mistake," Hinata said, lifting from her crouch. "Kiba, Shino, I-I'm sorry if I've betrayed your trust. I brought you along under false pretenses and I'll understand if you want to turn back. I-"

"Hina, stop talking," the firm sound of Kiba's voice cut her off. "Yeah, okay, you didn't tell us everything and, yeah, we're gonna have a talk about that, but if you think we're really gonna abandon you now, just because of a little danger, then you've obviously been away from Team 8 too long."

"I concur," Shino said. "We promised to aide you in whatever way we could because, though we are not related by blood, you are family. We will risk ourselves for you as we know you would for us. We will not turn back."

Akamaru barked in agreement and Hinata felt her eyes mist and tighten with tears. She fought them back and smiled.

"Thank you. I mean that. Thank you."

Kiba shrugged, embarrassed by the sudden influx of emotions. "Heh, don't sweat it. I've been itching to get my hands on these people anyway. Hurt our nephew and destroy my prized team – they're gonna wish they never met us."

"My kikaichu have been restless."

Hinata huffed out a wet laugh but didn't comment. Instead, she flared her Byakugan again and shifted her attention back to the trees. "We should continue, then. Hopefully, we can get there while it's still light out."

They took off, wind whipping at their backs, deeper and deeper into the forests of Hi no Kuni.

* * *

"They appear to be clones, Hokage-sama," Shizune spoke over the videophone. "Actual, biological life forms. The level of genetic understanding necessary to perform such a feat isn't like anything I've ever seen before. Our current medical technology just barely skims the surface of this."

Naruto resisted the temptation to run a hand down his face. Most of what Shizune said had gone right over his head, but he got the gist of it. The children in the lab were – at the very least – all genetically identical. Some of the bodies showed traces of different kekkei genkai, but they had no way of knowing which ones or how many until the medical unit could perform more tests. The live ones were no longer alive.

"And you're sure they're all the same?" He asked, just one more time, even though he already knew the answer.

Shizune nodded. "Down to the last cell, sir."

Naruto stifled a sigh and pushed back the desire to slam his head on his desk. Doing so would be unprofessional and the noise might wake Himawari from her nap. He chanced a glance to the little girl. She lay on the couch in his office, completely oblivious to both the conversation and the world at large. Her precious stuffed panda was squished between her arms, the thing almost as big as she was. Naruto's face softened at the picture.

"Sasuke has secured the lab for further use. We should have the results of the tests within the next two days, but I'm having my team seal the bodies we've looked at for transport back to Konoha. We'll do a sweep and bring back anything else we think are important," Shizune said, pulling Naruto away from his daughter.

He smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Shizune."

"Of course, Hokage-sama," she said, smiling back in that manner that always made his insides warm with sibling affection. He felt somewhat guilty at keeping the whole truth of the situation from her, but he couldn't risk her team overhearing. Plus, it was nice to have someone smile at him without it being tinged with pity. "If that's all, I need to return to my team."

Naruto nodded. "Right. Update me when you have more information."

"Will do. Shizune out." The screen flickered and shut off, and Naruto finally allowed himself to sink back into his chair. He rubbed a tired hand over his face and took in the quiet. The rare, rare quiet.

"Orochimaru's been busy."

Naruto didn't bother opening his eyes. He hummed in the back of his throat, but otherwise made no motion to acknowledge the other person. Instead, he draped his prosthetic over his face and slouched deeper into the chair. "Did you expect him to do otherwise?"

A scoff and then, "No. Though, I hoped we'd never need to know what he was doing."

"What?" Naruto asked wryly, removing his arm to look at the person for the first time. "You thought he would just go away?"

"Thought? No," he dismissed. "Hoped, perhaps, but that's it. The man's too troublesome to just lay down and die."

Naruto smirked, amused despite himself. He straightened back up. "Only you, Shikamaru, would describe Orochimaru as nothing more than troublesome."

"Tch," Shikamaru rolled his eyes, moving to settle himself into one of the chairs before the Hokage's desk. "I could say a lot of things about that man, but I doubt you'd want them around Himawari," he said, glancing sideways to the still sleeping girl.

"And you'd be right," he agreed, teasingly. The pair grinned playfully at each other before sobering and returning to the matter at hand. "What do you think about what Shizune found?"

"I think Orochimaru's finally lost his last grasp on sanity," Shikamaru uttered. He crossed his arms and bounced his leg in aggravation at the whole situation. A part of him wanted to throw his hands up in defeat, say he was done. That this was just getting more and more disturbing the deeper they delved. He didn't, because Naruto looked like all the life had been sucked from him and Shikadai was home, terrified, but trying so hard not to show it. His clan was walking on pins and needles, and the rest of the village was no better. All the assurances in the world hadn't stopped the heavy cloud of _wrongness_ that hovered over Konoha.

Shikamaru sighed. "I will say this. I have an idea what Orochimaru wanted with Boruto." He waited as Naruto's eyes widened just the slightest bit and ploughed on. "Shizune said the bodies had evidence of kekkei genkai and Boruto was tested positive for the Byakugan."

"Positive, yes, but he hasn't displayed any hint of it yet," Naruto countered. "If Orochimaru wanted the Byakugan he would have gone after someone who's already activated it."

"And yet, he didn't go after Himawari," the Nara reminded. He ignored the way Naruto's jaw clenched and how his eyes darted to the girl in ill concealed fear. "Now, that might have been because she was with you at the time and Boruto wasn't, but we both know that wouldn't have stopped Orochimaru had he really wanted her."

"You think he wanted Boruto because he _hasn't_ activated it yet?" Naruto's forehead wrinkled up in confusion. Taking a dormant bloodline when an active one was available made no sense.

But Shikamaru nodded his head in the affirmative. "The Hyuuga are born with their bloodline activated. Boruto and Himawari are the only ones on record who've been positive for it, yet showed no traits at birth. Why?"

Naruto shook his head, puzzled and concerned and still trying to make sense of someone wanting a dormant ability.

"Of course…" Shikamaru hesitated and looked at Naruto with a somewhat wary reluctance. A stone settled in the Hokage's stomach. The Nara swallowed. "Of course, there's also the possibility that Orochimaru wanted Boruto for another reason. More specifically, an Uzumaki reason."

"Longevity," Naruto breathed out, the words tumbling from his lips involuntarily.

Shikamaru slumped. "And chakra. Boruto and Himawari are unique in that they've inherited your chakra capacity with the Hyuuga's control. Either one would be the ideal test subject for him, but Boruto was more accessible. In abducting him, Orochimaru would have the perfect package: a possible Byakugan, longevity, chakra and control. If he could transfer that to those clones…"

"He'd have an almost unbeatable army," Naruto finished for him. A feeling of dread built up in his chest. The idea of either one of his children as test subjects in one of Orochimaru's labs made bile rise up his throat. He eyed Shikamaru anxiously. "Do you think he'll come after Himawari?"

The other man tilted his head, unsure. "It's possible. With his failure concerning Boruto, he may feel it's worth the risk. At the same time, we've tripled security and warned our shinobi to be on alert. For all we know, we could be entirely off the mark."

It was true. Their assumptions could be completely wrong. Naruto didn't think so, though. It made too much sense.

He leaned forward heavily against the desk and folded his fingers under his chin. "Sarada's records were also tampered with. It's possible he'll try to make a grab for her. Orochimaru has always prized the Sharingan."

"True, but less likely," Shikamaru said. "Orochimaru has more data on the Sharingan and, considering the contact he had with Danzo, I doubt he wasn't able to collect at least one pair."

"Then why grab her files?"

Shikamaru shrugged. "Why grab yours, or Hinata's, or Sakura's? I think if he was going to go after Sarada, he would have done it at the same time as Boruto so as not to give us time to react."

He made a good point, one that allowed Naruto to breathe just a little bit easier. It wasn't much, but it was something.

"If you want, I can assign an ANBU squad to Sarada, just in case," though they were already stretched thin as it were and assigning a team to Sarada might not be the best decision. If she was targeted, however, and no one was watching, well…

Naruto heaved a sigh. "No. We can't afford it. Sakura understands. She's already made sure Sarada's kept under watch. She won't be left alone."

Shikamaru felt himself relax at that. For a moment, he thought Naruto's sentimentality would urge him to make an unwise decision. In his younger years, he probably would have. Not anymore.

"What does Nagahito have to say about the situation?" He asked, changing the subject towards Naruto's earlier meeting.

Naruto rolled his eyes and brushed a hand through the air. "Oh, you know Nagahito. He's like his father. Throw him enough compliments and he's eating out of the palm of your hand. Wouldn't stop telling me how 'horrible' and 'saddening' everything was, and how absolutely 'horrified' he was at the whole thing," he finished with a final eye roll, entirely sick of hearing it.

Shikamaru snorted. "All the better for us, I suppose. The ambassador isn't nearly as accommodating."

"Really? He's never come across that way to me." But there was a sparkle in Naruto's expression that told Shikamaru he knew exactly what he was referring to.

The Nara scowled. "That's because he's terrified of you."

"Could've fooled me," the Hokage muttered. Ambassador Takehani was perhaps one of the most odious, insipid men either one of them ever had the displeasure of meeting. "But Nagahito did promise me any aide I needed. Takehani can't do anything about that."

"Good, we're going to need all that help if this gets any worse. Especially considering," he glared at Naruto, "you sent Team 8 out on a suicide mission."

Naruto stifled a groan. "We've already discussed this."

"No, I discussed it with your _clone_," Shikamaru corrected. "In Boruto's hospital room. After Tsunade became suspicious. Did you really expect to get your henge passed her?"

"It worked, didn't it?" Naruto asked, rhetorically. "The only reason she got suspicious in the first place was because I wouldn't let her examine me for the stress. It's not like I tried hard to hide it."

"Not really the point," he grumbled through his teeth. "She was spitting over her report." His fingers twitched over said document as he handed it over and Naruto took it without looking at him. "You know she and Sakura are ready to gut you."

"The killing intent did hint at that, yes."

"Damn it, Naruto, what were you thinking?" His hissed, throwing his hands up in the air and leaning over to get in Naruto's face. The blond tried not to flinch.

Still, if he was going to get yelled at, he might as well defend himself. "I was _thinking _that Hinata was going to do this with or without my permission so she might as well go off with a plan that isn't going to get her killed within the first five minutes."

"And you didn't think to _stop _her?" Shikamaru questioned. "You're the Hokage. It is well within your power to order her to stand down."

"Oh, right, and when was the last time you ordered Temari to do something?"

"I'm not the Hokage!"

"Daddy?" The men immediately swiveled around – both mildly surprised to find themselves already standing – and stared as Himawari rubbed at her eyes to wipe away the sleep. "What's going on? Why are you yelling?"

"No reason, sweetheart," Naruto soothed, instantly plastering a comforting smile on his face for the girl as he maneuvered around his desk to pick her up. Shikamaru shot him a look that quite plainly said, 'We're not done discussing this,' but Naruto ignored him. Himawari happily allowed her father to gather her up into his arms, were she sat contentedly with her arms around his neck. "Daddy and Shikamaru just got really excited for a moment. Did we wake you up?"

Himawari smiled and shook her head, her hair tickling Naruto's chin. "No. I'm just not sleepy no more."

"Oh, I see. Did you have a good nap?"

The girl bobbed her head up and down vigorously, drawing out a much-needed chuckle from her father. "Mmhm, I had a really good dream. Do you wanna hear it?"

Naruto tucked at her chin. "I'd love to."

"Hokage-sama," Shikamaru interjected before the child could get started. "If you have no more need of me, I will take my leave."

"Of course, Shikamaru. Thank you for your advice. I'll be sure to think about it." Like it was possible for him to think about anything else. Inwardly, he shook his head in dismay. Shifting his attention back to Himawari, he said, "Say goodbye to Shikamaru, Hima."

"Bye-bye, Shika-ji! Thank you for helping, daddy." Her smile grew and she waved awkwardly at the man, her only available hand occupied by the bear. Shikamaru waved back.

"Goodbye, Himawari. Have a good day."

"You too!" She exclaimed as Shikamaru bowed, sent Naruto a reproachful look over her head, and left the room.

Now alone, Naruto walked back over to his desk, but instead of sitting, he grabbed his cloak and tucked it under his arm. "Hey, Hima, how about we go get lunch at Ichiraku's and then go home and play, eh?"

Her little face lit up. She'd woken up that morning to find daddy sleeping in her bed _and _she got to go to work with him. This had to be the best day ever. "Really? You mean it? We can play _all day_?"

Naruto found himself grinning widely as joy leaked from his daughter's body. "Yep! We can do whatever you want today. I'm all yours."

"Yay! Can we visit Boru-nii, now?"

Naruto strained to keep a straight face. The question was asked so innocently, and she looked so excited that it hurt him to disappoint her. But he couldn't let her see her brother as he currently was. She would have nightmares for sure. He was already having nightmares.

He carefully kept his smile in place, the edges tinged with apology. "Ah, no, sweetheart. Boru-nii is still sleeping."

"But he was sleeping this morning, too," she whined, petulantly. "Why he gots to sleep so much?"

Naruto sighed. "Well, you remember how mommy told you Boru-nii got hurt?"

"Yeah, but that was _days_ ago," she complained. Naruto huffed and silently marveled at how foreign that must be for her. He supposed to her – who'd grown up in a family with advanced healing – taking days to heal would seem awfully strange.

"I know, but Boru-nii got hurt a little bit worse than normal, so he has to sleep a lot in order to get better." Which was such an oversimplification of the issue that Naruto wished he had her innocence again so he could believe it too.

She pouted and looked down, her little fingers picking at her father's collar as a distraction. "Okay, but we can visit him when he wakes up, right?" She asked, gazing imploringly up into identical blue eyes.

"Yeah, yeah we can visit him when he wakes up."

She nodded thoughtfully. "And that's gonna be soon, right?"

"I…yeah." Hopefully. "That'll be soon."

"Good," she said, her smile reappearing. "I miss Boru-nii."

"Oh, Hima, I'm sure he misses you, too."

"Do you miss him?"

_More than you can imagine. _"Yeah, I miss him a lot."

"But…but mommy's with him right now, so he's not lonely."

Well… "That's right, mommy's with him right now. And he's got Sakura-ba-chan and Tsunade-baa-chan, so he's got a lot of company." Even though the last clone he'd placed in Boruto's room had been dispelled courtesy of an enraged Sakura. She wasn't too pleased with the deception. The clone had already been replaced, but even those few minutes away brought up a wave of guilt and fear in Naruto's stomach. It was bad enough he couldn't be down there in person.

"Daddy? Can we bring Boru-nii ramen?" She asked and Naruto pushed aside the shame in favor of amusement. If anyone ever doubted she was his daughter…

He chuckled. "No, ladybug. Boru-nii can't have ramen right now," and he almost laughed outright at her horrified expression, "but I'm sure he wouldn't mind if we ate it for him."

She turned contemplative, pursing her lips and bringing up her index finger to rest on her chin. She was absolutely adorable. "Okay!"

"Perfect! Let's head down to Ichiraku's and you tell me all about that good dream of your's."

"Yeah! It was so cool, daddy. You were there, and mommy, and Boru-nii, and…" Naruto allowed the prattle to wash over him. He could feel the ANBU surround them as they left his office, the silencer seals disintegrating and the room falling dormant behind him. If anyone tried to enter now, they would only find blank documents and useless technology.

Himawari was thankfully oblivious to the various looks they received on their walk, already used to being in the public eye. She didn't notice the sympathy and fear. Well, no. He looked closer. She was twitchier than normal and was a perhaps a bit more boisterous. She noticed the changed atmosphere; she just didn't connect it to herself. He would have to look into getting her a trainer for this new ability. He shook his head. Seeing emotions – only in his family.

She continued to describe her dream, how they were all together on a picnic when bad ninja attacked, but Daddy and Mommy fought them off because they were just that awesome. Naruto nodded at all the right moments, and ohh-ed and ahh-ed when appropriate, but was only able to listen with half an ear. His senses were on high alert, every movement processed and analyzed for suspicious activity. Naruto was almost surprised Himawari hadn't complained at the tightness with which he held her. He supposed that, on some level, she realized he needed it.

A sharp spike of chakra alerted him to the presence of another ANBU. The woman, one of Ino's minions if the badge on her arm were anything to go by, appeared over his shoulder. Himawari stopped her storytelling to gaze inquisitively at the new arrival. Her mask, a tiger, would have frightened any other child, but Himawari merely grinned and waved her panda's arm at her. The ANBU waved back and leaned in to Naruto's ear.

"Hokage-sama, Yamanaka-taicho has reported a contained breakout regarding Prisoner 22769."

Naruto nodded and waved his hand in dismissal. Tora bowed, flickering away in the same manner she'd arrived. He looked at the sun. Noon.

_Right on time, Ino_, he thought, though just what she was planning he was still wary about.

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?" Himawari's face conveyed only curiosity; one Naruto found himself mirroring.

"Who was that?"

"Who? Oh," he flittered his gaze to the empty space over his shoulder and then back. "That was just a friend of daddy's. She was just updating me on something for the council. Now come on," he said, shifting her attention, "let's go get that ramen!"

Worked like a charm. She immediately brightened and continued chattering, the entire encounter completely forgotten. For his part, Naruto was content to listen as she blathered on about the nonsensical nature of her dream and how much fun she and mommy had had yesterday.

He smiled and nodded and easily molded his chakra into a familiar shape before releasing it. There was a quiet _pop _off to his left, drowned out by the chattering of civilians and unnoticed by everyone. The sign for Ichiraku's hung before them and Himawari let out a cheer. She squirmed in his arms, desperate to be put down so she could run, but Naruto was reluctant. He shook himself of the thought. She would still be in his line of sight.

"Teuchi-jii, Teuchi-jii," she chanted, running for the stall. Villagers turned from their business to look on in amusement, their eyes then glancing at Naruto and swiftly shifting to sympathy. They bowed as he passed and returned to their work.

Naruto took it all in stride. While they didn't know the whole truth of the situation, enough had been released for them to know that Boruto had been hurt during an attempted kidnapping. He appreciated their support.

"Daddy! Hurry up!" Himawari's cry echoed through the market. She was already situated on a stool, Ayame before her, and poised with a pen.

Naruto snickered. "Coming!"

He picked up the pace to a light jog and held back a grin as the little girl bounced in her seat. They made quite a spectacle as they ordered their ramen. So much so, that no one paid any attention as another blond Hokage made his way out of the alley and into a small, nondescript house across the street. Winter flowers bloomed on the front steps and the man was welcomed in with a smile.

_Alright, Ino. Let's see what you've got for me._

* * *

Moegi was in her element. Placed on a team with an inevitable powerhouse and a genius, Moegi knew from an early stage that she needed to carve out a place for herself. Medicine hadn't been her forte, and interrogation even less so, but trickery, acting, wandering in the shadows, that was where she found her niche. It made her a startlingly good diplomat and an even better mole.

She could remember learning the henge from Naruto. Sure, the Academy gave her a basic understanding, but Naruto was the one who showed her its potential. Not the sexy technique – though she did understand its uses – but rather the way he could effortlessly wrap chakra around himself and turn it solid, erasing all traces of a genjutsu. Of course, she was the one who actually pointed out this difference to him. In return, he tried to teach her how to do it. Considering he himself didn't entirely understand how that was, the process was slow going. She never fully got it, but she came close enough that no one but the highest elite jounin could discover her. It was a point of pride for her and one she wasn't likely to give up anytime soon.

The outfit she currently wore itched and there was dried blood on the shirt collar that forced a musty smell up he nose. It was unpleasant, but she'd dealt with worse. She had donned the body of another prisoner underneath, this one a woman with too bland a face to make her memorable.

If everything went according to plan, she'd be dead before the target had a chance to get suspicious.

"You ready, Moegi-chan?" Ino's all too enthusiastic voice entered the cell where Moegi was chained.

The blonde looked gleeful, practically skipping in her too-high heels, and her long interrogator's cloak swishing behind her dramatically.

"You're having way too much fun with this," Moegi said, though her own eyes sparkled.

Ino smirked. "Hey, when the Hokage gives you leave to do as you wish, you might as well go all out." She settled down on the dirty stone floor and held out a ring of three keys. "You know what you have to do, right?"

Moegi rolled her eyes. "You've only drilled it into me five times. Trust me, I know what I'm doing."

Her superior chuckled. "We'll see." She turned her wrist just so to check her watch, and smiled, worse than a Cheshire cat. "Well, we'd best get going then. Time to round up the prisoners."

Ino's teeth gleamed under the dim lighting of the cell and Moegi shivered.

It was from excitement.

* * *

Greying-brown hair sat limp and greasy on her head. Knots tangled through the strands and her blue eyes were crazed and cloudy. Blood analysis placed her in her mid-forties, early-fifties, though she looked far older. Her bones were frail, her body waif-like, and, if not for her attitude, none of the interrogators would have picked her for a kidnapping if given the choice. Many on Ino's team left her cell with bite marks, scratches in need of stitches, and, in one notable case, a missing eye. Of course, the eye fake anyway, but the point still stood. She was vicious and bloodthirsty and was the only one Ino had yet to break.

A single-file line of prisoners stood in the central hall of Interrogation Block C. The man from cell C-135 was visibly shaking as his hands and feet were chained and attached to his compatriots. Prisoner 22769 sneered at him. _Weakling_, she thought. He probably squealed like a pig.

She didn't flinch as the chains yanked at her wrists and ankles. Pain meant nothing to her. Her master had told her pain was just another obstacle she had yet to overcome. More and more prisoners were added to the line until all twenty-three were linked together. It was degrading, how they all hunched over themselves as if they didn't care that they were once proud shinobi reduced to nothing but quivering rats. She was ashamed to know them.

"Hey!" The shouting of one of the guards brought her attention to the prisoner behind her, where the woman had been leaning too far over. The guard smacked her across the face and 22769 heard a growl in the back of the other prisoner's throat. The part of her that could still feel something other than anger glimmered with pride. Perhaps not all of her comrades were cowards.

"You! Face forward!" It took a moment and a pull on her chains for her to realize the guard was talking to her. She sneered at him but didn't speak. She hadn't spoken a word in days.

The guards suddenly moved, three to the front, three to the back and three on either side. "All clear!" The demonic blonde said from the front. 22769 hated her. She hated her more than the plump purple-haired one and the scar-faced one. "Move out!'

The line began to move, each prisoner shuffling along the polished floor as quickly as their chains would allow. For almost a half an hour they walked through the long tunnels, the only sounds to be heard were the rattling of chains and the occasional cry of a guard. The light was dim and worked in diminishing any sense of defiance. 22769 seethed with every step. If she could only feel her chakra, she would have escaped days ago. They wouldn't have been able to hold her.

The prisoner behind her stumbled. She felt a slight pull on her binds as the other woman leaned into her to catch her fall. The younger girl's hand grabbed at her back and 22769 felt an almost imperceptible burning sensation over the spot. She longed to scratch it, but the chains prevented it. Even without them, she wasn't sure she could have reached.

"Don't move." 22769 stiffened. The woman behind her leaned closer, as far as she could without looking suspicious. "You should be able to feel your chakra returning in a minute."

_Wha_-?

There! She felt it. A small tingle throughout her body as if she'd stepped into the hot springs after days in the snow. Her chakra! She'd almost forgotten what it felt like.

"Calm down," her savior hissed. "You don't want to draw their attention." Her eyes flickered back and forth towards the guards around them, and 22769 forced herself to relax. It was difficult. This sudden brush of freedom was almost too sweet to deny.

"How?" The older woman croaked, her voice sore from days of disuse, but too euphoric at this turn of events to remain silent.

Her comrade smirked. "I'm a fuuinjutsu expert. They shouldn't have placed my suppressor seal where I could reach it."

22769 fought down her own grin. The fools! She only had the vaguest recollection of her savior. Dull brown eyes stared out from under brown bangs, and she had one of those faces that blended into the crowd. Despite that, she wasn't unfamiliar. As far as 22769 knew, they'd only met once before this mission, but she remembered her skills: fuuinjutsu and genjutsu, a perfect blend for her own abilities. Hope blossomed once more in her chest.

She could get out. She could escape. Perhaps, if she was careful, she could even complete the mission. Her leader would be so pleased.

"What did you have in mind?" She whispered out of the corner of her mouth. For the other woman – Minako, if memory served her correctly – to go through such effort, she must have some plan.

"It will take a while for your chakra to return," Minako replied. "Mine has had time to build back up. I'm going to cause a diversion. While the guards are distracted, we'll unlock the bindings and make a run for it."

It was a bit simpler than she expected, but the best plans usually were. Complex strategies were often hard to follow and open to too many complications. She didn't ask how they were going to get the keys. 22769 nodded.

"Alright, get ready." She tensed. The faint tingle of her chakra allowed her to feel as Minako set a subtle genjutsu around the room. It probably wouldn't work for long. Despite their obvious incompetence, the genjutsu was weak. Obviously, Minako's chakra had yet to return to normal, but, if all went well, it might just be enough.

"Now," Minako hissed, pushing a ring with three keys into her hands. Of course, she had leaned into the guard earlier! 22769 could taste freedom.

She quickly jimmied one of the keys into the lock and twisted, repeating again at the ankles. The shackles fell off with a loud _snap!_ Grinning and giving a great sigh of relief, she rubbed at the raw skin. It felt so light.

"Don't dawdle! Hurry!" Minako pulled at her arm, gasping and stumbling as their injuries made themselves known. Pain coursed through 22769's body, but she pushed through. She was so close. She could get out – could complete the mission!

"Kai!" Oh no…

"Stop!"

The two kunoichi didn't risk looking behind them. They could hear chaos erupt as the other prisoners tried to escape, but they were not so fortunate. Lacking the ability to touch their chakra and weak from days of torture, the other prisoners stood no chance.

"Doton: Dochū Senkō!"

The ground around them turned to liquid. Immediately, their feet stuck to the muck and prevented them from moving as fast as they could. _No, no, no, no, no_, she thought. _I'm so close. _But within seconds, the blonde demon was on them. Her fingers formed the shape of a rectangle and then…

"Shinranshin no Jutsu!"

She couldn't feel her body. No, that wasn't right. She could feel everything, but it was muted, like she was half-asleep. Involuntarily, her feet began to move away from the exit and over towards her jailor. One, two, three steps. Her arms reached out, ready and waiting for the clasp of shackles, when a flash of grey entered her peripheral and connected.

"Arg!" The blonde yelled as Minako's shin made contact with her face. She spun around, falling into a ready stance as the Yamanaka slowly rose and wiped the blood from her nose.

"Oh, feisty," the blonde demon snickered, looking as if she hadn't even felt the kick.

Minako didn't back down. She continued to hold her ground even as the plump violette and the scarred man joined their torturer. They were at a standstill. Three fresh jounin and two injured prisoners.

"Katon: Endan!" Minako shouted suddenly. She built up what chakra she could and fired it at their assailants. Though small, the fire was amplified by the shape of the tunnel.

"Doton: Doryūheki!" The scarred man shouted, covering his group with a wall of earth.

The two women didn't waste any time. They immediately spun around and fled. Behind them, they heard the sound of the jutsu coming down and pushed on. If they wanted to have any chance of escape, they would need to put as much distance between them and their captors as possible.

They came upon a fork in the tunnel.

"Left, left, left," Minako ushered, pulling further on her arm. She winced as it irritated her already exacerbated injuries, but didn't argue even though she was puzzled by the emphatic nature of the choice.

As if sensing her question, Minako muttered, "Most people pick right when they come to a fork. With three of them, they're bound to split up, but that still means one or two less people on our tail."

22769 smirked. Of all those cowards, she was glad she'd gotten the only one with any sort of sense. Minako would have to go, of course – sharing the glory of a successful mission wasn't nearly as beneficial as being the only survivor – but she wouldn't snub her nose at having someone to watch her back while she gathered strength.

"Suiton: Hōmatsu Rappa!"

The cry came from behind and a sea of foamy bubbles sped towards them. There was nowhere to go except forward and the bubbles soon coated the floor. Both kunoichi found themselves slipping and sliding as they lost friction and soon they were sent spiraling to the floor. Landing in a heap, they tried to twist their bodies back into a standing position, but it was of no use.

Ino appeared before them, grinning widely, a giant crustacean at her side. Her hair had fallen from its ponytail to whip freely down her back and a bruise was blossoming at her nose. It didn't seem to bother her.

"Good shot, Kaniko," she congratulated while reaching down to pat the large summon on her back.

The summon snapped her pincers, proud. "My pleasure, Ino-sama."

"Now, just where do you two think you're going?" She asked, her obvious amusement sending a shiver of rage down 22769's back.

Minako clasped her elbow. "Magen: Nijū Kokoni Arazu no Jutsu," she whispered, and the two watched as Ino's and Kaniko's eyes glazed over with genjutsu. "That won't hold them for long," the younger woman said. "I don't have the chakra, but it might take her some time to realize it's a double illusion."

The older woman nodded and the two slowly made their way to the end of the stretch of foam. As soon as their feet were free of the substance, they ran. Up a flight of stairs and down two more corridors, they could soon feel their lungs begin to ache from the stress. Three days of torture and little sustenance had taken its toll.

"Through here." Minako pulled open a door and yanked her through, almost causing her to fall. She caught herself on the wall, but couldn't stifle a groan when she saw what lay before them.

_Not another hall_, she thought, absolutely sick of them. She'd hoped for some place they could take refuge, but it seemed it was not to be. _Fucking, Konoha_. She wished she could burn the whole village to the ground.

"Why are you stopping? We've got to keep running," Minako urged and she couldn't help muttering expletives at her under her breath. A fingernail, sharper than her best kunai, appeared at her neck. 22769 stilled. She met Minako's glare warily. "Remember who got you out. You'd still be down in that shithole if it wasn't for me, so I'd be a little more grateful if I were you."

The older woman snarled. She jerked her head away from the appendage and glowered at her companion. Minako didn't flinch. She only sniggered, amused, and moved forward. 22769 followed after a moment, her desire for freedom overriding her distaste.

They ran down the rest of the corridor and up one more flight of stairs before a sudden hiss stopped them cold.

"Well, well, well, Anko-sssama will be pleasssed. A pair of essscapeesss ripe for the taking. Tsssk, tsssk, tsssk."

It was a snake, large and purple with protruding fangs and a wicked gleam in his eyes. He swayed towards them, soaking in their fear like a sponge. He could literally taste it on his tongue.

"Let'sss sssee how long you lassst, little prisssonersss."

Suddenly, he was on them, lunging out with terrifying speed. His fangs sank into Minako's arm and she let out a piercing scream before tumbling to the ground in an agonized heap.

22769 spun around to avoid the same fate, her hands lashing out to grab hold of the snake's fangs. He hissed and whipped out with his mouth in an attempt to bite her. She strained against the might of the snake; forcing what little chakra she could feel to her feet to keep herself steady. The harsh stone wall scratched at her back, but she ignored the sting.

"Sen'eijashu!" The cry came out of nowhere, and 22769 threw herself to the floor, just managing to evade being hit by the snakes erupting from the newcomer's sleeve.

It was the plump purple-haired one, grinning maniacally at them from the end of the hall. She looked as if she couldn't have thought up a better way to spend her day and, considering her torture methods, 22769 wasn't surprised. The woman was an absolute sadist.

"Aww, you dodged," she pouted, not sounding at all upset. "Oh well, more fun for me."

The feeling of her chest being carved into by Anko's high-heels was excruciating and she let out a loud scream as she landed. There was no time to recover, however, as the giant snake from earlier curled himself around her leg and pulled.

She was thrown like a ragdoll into the wall and slid to the floor with a groan. Desperately, she reached for her chakra, but it was no use. Using any more would be a death sentence. Anko and her snakes stalked forward and her heart plummeted. If she got caught now, she'd never get the chance to complete the mission.

"Fuuinjutsu: Zenshinfuzui!" Minako appeared at her side, her palm splayed as she slapped Anko with a seal.

Anko froze, her entire body completely paralyzed. Minako used her opponent's surprise to land a wild haymaker on the giant snake, and then swept forward with a spinning kick at the others. They landed further down the hall from the girls, and they used the opportunity to push away from the wall and turn back down the corridor. They didn't get half way there before another attack came from behind.

"Suiton: Suiben!" A water whip wrapped around Minako's wrist and wrenched her aside, causing her to tumble to the floor. She thrashed and struggled against the hold, but Ino was stronger, sending out another one to grasp hold of the other wrist. Her summon clamped down hard on the woman's leg with her giant pincers and Minako screamed. She fell silent a second later as one of Anko's snakes reappeared and wrapped itself around her head.

The paralysis seal must have worn off because Anko materialized not a moment later, wild with fury. She glowed upon seeing the spectacle and spun a kunai tauntingly across her fingers.

22769 didn't stop to help her comrade. She spun around in a run, moving as fast as her damaged legs would allow. Behind her, she heard a low squelching sound and it urged her further.

"Anko, Kaniko, take care of this one," were the last words she heard before the sounds of footsteps drew closer.

She pushed herself onwards, through the dimly lit and damp concrete halls of the tunnel, and up three flights of stairs to another corridor. Her legs ached with each movement and she didn't have the chakra capacity yet to amplify them. Tunnel after tunnel, incline after incline, she ran forward.

_Come on, come on_. She pushed her body further. She just had to let her chakra build up a bit more, then she could fight. Already she could feel her body adjusting, her chakra refilling. It hurt, but nothing more than she could handle.

"Doton: Doryūkatsu!" The earth opened up into a chasm before her.

She pulled up short, her feet just teetering on the edge of open earth. The gorge was large and there was no way to make the jump in her condition. Her blonde pursuer leapt forward and she spun out of the way. For a moment, she thought the interrogator had fallen but it was not to be. The Yamanaka sat crouched on a protruding beam of earth that hadn't been there before. She felt her adrenaline kick as the blonde made another hand sign. Frantically, 22769 looked around for another exit and her eyes highlighted upon a tiny crack in the wall.

She managed to shimmy her way into the fissure just as a cry of, "Doton Kekkai: Dorō Dōmu!" pierced through the tunnel. A dome of earth appeared behind her, but it was of no consequence. She'd escaped it.

The gap she found herself in was tiny and barely large enough for her to walk through on her side. Despite this, she allowed herself a brief of consolation. Her chaser would have just as hard of a time getting to her as she had moving forward.

A light appeared in front of her eyes and she felt her heart begin to race. She slithered closer and closer, scratches appearing on her face as the cold concrete scraped against her. Small, pebbled-sized pieces broke off and entered her eyes, causing her to wince and blink repeatedly, tears building up.

_Closer, closer_, she whispered in her mind like a mantra. She was so close.

Air! Sweet, clean air! She burst from the crack in the wall with a gasp, hacking and coughing and doubling over as the pain in her ribs took hold. Falling against the wall, she collapsed to the floor in a heap and leaned her head against the stone trying to catch her breath. For a few minutes, she just sat there, eyes closed, and senses on high alert. She couldn't sense anybody coming, but then, she wasn't at a hundred percent.

She only allowed herself those few moments to relax before she was immediately back on her feet. She took a cursory glance at her surroundings. It was a large room consisting of more stone and a sparse collection of furniture. A few windows were spread out against the wall and it was there she went to first.

The first thing she saw were trees. Considering this was Konoha that wasn't necessarily a surprise, but the way they surrounded the building led her to believe she was outside the gates in some portion of the forest. A watchtower perhaps? She didn't have time to find out. No doubt the village was on lockdown by now. Everyone would be out looking for her and she was at a considerable disadvantage. No weapons, no energy, and a weak chakra capacity. If she had any chance of completing the mission she would have to lay low and hide out in the forest.

A forceful push and the window dislodged, glass shattering on impact. She tested her capacity. It wasn't much, but it was building and she should have enough to make it to the ground. She took a deep breath and placed her foot upon the sill. It stuck.

She sagged in relief. At least she had enough chakra to run down a building. Gripping the frame in her hands, she allowed her body to fall, her feet slamming against the wood covering the outside of the tower. It was euphoric. For the first time in days, she smelled the sweet scent of clean air and reveled in the feeling of wind on her face.

Briefly, she wondered if Minako had managed to escape, but found it unlikely. The force with which the snake held her probably crushed her skull. It was no true loss, though it occurred sooner than she would have liked. She had yet to build back her strength.

Her feet hit the ground with a harder than normal _thump_ and she grasped the grass in her hand with a yank, running it through her fingers simply because she could. A river appeared to run under the tower and she figured it would be in her best interest to stay near it. Not too close, of course – she would be too easily followed – but close enough that she could be assured of water.

Once more, she spread her senses out as far as she could. No one. She had time, at the very least. With one last check on her chakra, she transferred it to her legs and pushed off into the trees. It made her slightly lightheaded but she persevered, refusing to give up now that she'd been given this second chance.

Orochimaru-sama would surely reward her.

* * *

"I gotta admit, Ino, that worked much better than I thought it would."

Ino tilted her head as she watched the prisoner run through the trees from her spot in the basement of the Forty-Fourth Tower. Her finger lazily twirled around her ponytail and she didn't even try to hide how ridiculously pleased she was with herself. "Well, I can't take all the credit. Moegi was perfect."

"Just Moegi?"

She blew aside a bang and waved her hand dismissively. "You were good too, I suppose. Not that you had to do much except shiver and shuffle a bit. Moegi was much more impressive."

"I'll have you know, it was harder than it looked," Naruto sniffed indignantly. "But you're right. Moegi really gave it her all. I might just have to recruit her into one of my fuuinjutsu projects."

"Oh yes, because that was completely on her," said Ino sarcastically. Moegi had only added a generic filter seal over the initial suppressor, allowing her to control the amount of chakra the prisoner could use, and Naruto himself premade other one. "She gives a mean kick, though. Broke my nose and everything."

"And yet, it looks perfectly intact."

"Well, I am a healer," Ino reminded, blithely. "Besides, I got her right back. We might have to have an actual spar one of these days."

"Ha! Good luck," Naruto teased. "Moegi plays dirty."

"Even better," Ino replied, showing all her teeth. A flash of movement pulled her attention back to the screen and her grin widened even more than Naruto thought possible. Waltzing forward, she pressed a small button on the command board and leaned in. "Nara, Sarutobi, she's heading your way."

There was a _click_ and a small amount of static on the other end before another voice filtered through.

"Confirmed, Yamanaka-taicho. We're in pursuit."

"Wonderful. Yamanaka out." The connection ended and Naruto raised his eyebrow.

Ino furrowed her brow. "What?"

"You put those two together? Seriously?"

She shrugged defensively. "They volunteered."

"Right."

* * *

"What do ya think, Nara? Wanna have a little fun?"

The woman snorted. "Oh please. It's only fun if there's a challenge. But," she twirled a spool of wire in her palm, "I have always been partial to a good game of cat and mouse."

Her companion snickered. "Then what are we waiting for? I've got a new technique I've just been _itching_ to test out."

"Of course you do," she sighed. "Just try to keep up, brat." She leapt from the high branch and began to run, bounding from tree to tree with perhaps a little more ferocity than was necessary.

Konohamaru scowled. "Damn hag." But he took off after her, pumping chakra to his limbs to keep up.

They followed their target deeper into the forest, anticipation and exhilaration pumping through their veins until they came upon a very conveniently placed clearing. Their grins stretched until they resembled that of a shark and kunai twitched around their fingers.

Temari's eyes gleamed under the sunlight. "Shall we?"

"After you."

She let her kunai fly, Konohamaru's not far behind. The weapons landed in trees, and dirt, and bushes, and startled the prisoner into leaping to the center of the clearing. She teetered as dizziness struck her, but managed to fall into an imperfect defensive stance. Frantically, she searched the clearing for her assailants but found nothing. Her body tensed in preparation for another attack.

Suddenly, the kunai flew up into the air, sunlight shining off their sharp edges, and sped back to their owners on invisible strings. Her eyes followed them to the canopy where two shinobi materialized out of the shadows. She backed up involuntarily. They looked like demons emerging from hell.

"Hiya," the blonde woman said, slamming the butt of her fan down onto the branch with a resounding _thud. _

"'Sup?" The man nodded and twirled his staff.

Prisoner 22769 summoned as much chakra as she could into her mouth and fired.

* * *

**And that's a wrap for this chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! Please review, but I'd appreciate if you refrained from any form of flaming. I appreciate any constructive criticism, but flames won't help anyone improve as a writer. **

**Next chapter we'll see what the rest of Ino's plan is, what's going on back with Team 8 and perhaps even a little bit of the kids. Until next time!**

**Have a great day/night!**

**~Alabaster Ink**


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